WSH (Construction) Regulations 2007

Workplace Safety and Health (Construction) Regulations 2007

PART II

SAFETY AND HEALTH MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENT

4. [Deleted by S 608/2009 wef 01/03/2010]

Site coordination meeting

5. It shall be the duty of the occupier of a worksite to —

(a)convene such site coordination meetings as are necessary with due regard to the progress of the works which are, or are to be, carried out in the worksite for the purpose of coordinating such works so as to ensure the safety, health and welfare of persons at work in the worksite; and

(b)ensure that every meeting is —

(i)presided by the project manager of the worksite; and

(ii)attended by every person (being a supervisor, an engineer, a workplace safety and health co-ordinator or a workplace safety and health officer) who is involved in any work or process being co-ordinated in the worksite and any other person who oversees any such work or process.

Workplace safety and health co-ordinator

6.—(1) For the purposes of section 28(1) of the Act, a workplace safety and health co-ordinator shall be appointed in respect of every worksite where the contract sum of the building operation or works of engineering construction carried out therein is less than $10 million.

(2) Every workplace safety and health co-ordinator shall be appointed by the occupier of every worksite referred to in paragraph (1).

(3)  The occupier of the worksite shall not appoint any person as a workplace safety and health co-ordinator unless the person is one —

(a)who has successfully completed a training course to equip him to be a workplace safety and health co-ordinator;

(b)whom the occupier reasonably believes is competent to perform the functions and duties of a workplace safety and health co-ordinator; and

(c)whom the occupier reasonably believes has at least 2 years’ practical experience relevant to the work to be performed by a workplace safety and health co-ordinator.

(4)  Any occupier of a worksite who contravenes paragraph (2) or (3) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $1,000 for every day or part thereof during which the offence continues after conviction.

Duties of workplace safety and health co-ordinator

7.—(1)  It shall be the duty of a workplace safety and health co-ordinator appointed under regulation 6(1) in respect of a worksite to —

(a)assist the occupier of the worksite to identify any unsafe condition in the worksite or unsafe work practice which is carried out in the worksite;

(b)recommend to the occupier of the worksite to implement such reasonably practicable measures to remedy the unsafe condition or unsafe work practice; and

(c)assist the occupier of the worksite to implement such reasonably practicable measures referred to in sub-paragraph (b).

(2) Any workplace safety and health co-ordinator who, without reasonable excuse, contravenes paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 and, in the case of a second or subsequent offence, to a further fine not exceeding $5,000.

Powers of workplace safety and health co-ordinator

8. A workplace safety and health co-ordinator shall, for the purposes of discharging his duties under regulation 7, have the power to do all or any of the following:

(a)to enter, inspect and examine at any reasonable time the worksite;

(b)to inspect and examine any machinery, equipment, plant, installation or article in the worksite;

(c)to require the production of worksite records, certificates, notices and documents kept or required to be kept under the Act, including any other relevant document, and to inspect and examine any of them;

(d)to make such examination and inquiry of the worksite and of any person at work at that worksite as may be necessary to execute his duties;

(e)to assess the level of noise, illumination, heat or harmful or hazardous substances in the worksite and the exposure levels of persons at work therein; and

(f)to investigate any accident, dangerous occurrence or occupational disease that occurred within the worksite.

Safety and health training

9.—(1)  It shall be the duty of —

(a)the employer of any person who carries out manual work in a worksite; or

(b)the principal under whose direction a person carries out manual work in a worksite,

to ensure that the person does not carry out any manual work in the worksite unless the person has received adequate safety and health training for the purpose of familiarising the person with the hazards associated with such work and the precautions to be observed.

(2) It shall be the duty of —

(a)the employer of any person who carries out oversight or supervisory work in a worksite; or

(b)the principal under whose direction any person carries out oversight or supervisory work in a worksite,

to ensure that the person does not oversee or supervise any work (including any process) in the worksite unless the person has received adequate safety and health training to ensure that the work which the person oversees or supervises can be carried out safely.

PART III

PERMIT-TO-WORK SYSTEM

Application of this Part

10.  his Part shall apply only to the following types of work that form part of any building operation or works of engineering construction (referred to in these Regulations as high-risk construction work):

(a)demolition work;

(b)excavation and trenching work in a tunnel or hole in the ground exceeding 1.5 metres depth;

(c)lifting operations involving tower, mobile or crawler crane;

(d)piling work; and

[S 278/2014 wef 01/05/2014]

(e)tunnelling work.

[S 278/2014 wef 01/05/2014]

(f)[Deleted by S 278/2014 wef 01/05/2014]

(g)[Deleted by S 224/2013 wef 01/05/2013]

Implementation of permit-to-work

11.—(1)  It shall be the duty of the occupier of a worksite at which any high-risk construction work is or is to be carried out to —

(a)appoint a project manager for the worksite;

(b)appoint a safety assessor (who shall be either a workplace health and safety officer for the worksite or a competent person); and

(c)take, so far as is reasonably practicable, such measures as are necessary to ensure that a permit-to-work system in accordance with this Part is implemented for that worksite.

(2)  The permit-to-work system referred to in paragraph (1) shall provide that —

(a)any high-risk construction work at the worksite must be carried out with due regard to the safety and health of persons carrying out the high-risk construction work in the worksite;

(b)such persons are informed of the hazards associated with the high-risk construction work and the precautions they have to take; and

(c)the necessary safety precautions are taken and enforced when the high-risk construction work is being carried out in the worksite.

(3) It shall be the duty of the occupier of a worksite to ensure that no person is appointed as a safety assessor unless the person is one whom the occupier reasonably believes is competent to perform the functions and duties of a safety assessor.

No high-risk construction work without permit-to-work

12.—(1)Subject to paragraph (2), any person who carries out any high-risk construction work in a worksite without a permit-to-work first issued by the project manager of the worksite in respect of that high-risk construction work shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000.

(2) Nothing in paragraph (1) shall operate to interfere with or render unlawful any rescue work or other work necessary for the general safety of life or property.

Application for permit-to-work

13. An application for a permit-to-work shall —

(a)be made by the supervisor of a person who is to carry out any high-risk construction work in a worksite;

(b)be made in such form and manner as may be required by the project manager of the worksite;

(c)state the measures which will be taken to ensure the safety and health of persons who carry out the high-risk construction work in the worksite; and

(d)be addressed to the project manager and submitted to the safety assessor for the worksite where the high-risk construction work is to be carried out.

Evaluation of permit-to-work

14.—(1) On receipt of the application for a permit-to-work, the safety assessor shall —

(a)assess whether all reasonably practicable measures have been taken to ensure the safety and health of the persons who will be carrying out the high-risk construction work in the worksite; and

(b)inspect the site (including its surroundings) where the high-risk construction work is to be carried out together with the supervisor of the person who is to carry out the work to ensure that the high-risk construction work can be carried out with due regard to the safety and health of the person or any other person at work in the worksite who may be affected.

(2) If the safety assessor is satisfied that the high-risk construction work can be carried out in the worksite with due regard to the safety and health of workers and other persons at work in the worksite who may be affected, he shall endorse the application for the permit-to-work and forward the endorsed application to the project manager of the worksite.

(3)It shall be the duty of the safety assessor to exercise all due diligence when performing his functions in relation to the evaluation and endorsement of an application for a permit-to-work under paragraphs (1) and (2).

Issue of permit-to-work

15.—(1) The project manager of a worksite may issue a permit-to-work in relation to any high-risk construction work which is to be carried out in the worksite if the project manager is satisfied that —

(a)there has been a proper evaluation of the risks and hazards involved in the carrying out of the work based on the available information;

(b)no incompatible work which may pose a risk to the safety and health of other persons at work in the worksite will be carried out at the same time in the same vicinity as the high-risk construction work;

(c)all reasonably practicable measures will or have been taken to ensure the safety and health of the persons who carry out or are to carry out the high-risk construction work; and

(d)all persons who are to carry out the high-risk construction work are informed of the hazards associated with it.

(2)The project manager of a worksite who issues a permit-to-work in respect of any high-risk construction work shall retain a copy of the permit-to-work.

(3)It shall be the duty of the project manager of a worksite to exercise all due diligence when performing his function in relation to the issuance of a permit-to-work under paragraph (1).

(4)Subject to regulation 19, a permit-to-work shall be valid for the period stated therein, and if the high-risk construction work for which the permit-to-work is issued is not completed within the validity period, a fresh application shall be made in accordance with regulation 13.

Posting of permit-to-work and supervisor’s duty

16.It shall be the duty of the supervisor of any person who carries out any high-risk construction work in a worksite to —

(a)clearly post a copy of the permit-to-work issued in respect of that high-risk construction work, including where reasonably practicable, a sketch of any area where the high-risk construction work is permitted, at the work area where the work is carried out; and

(b)ensure that the copy is not removed until the date of expiry or date of revocation of the permit-to-work or on completion of the high-risk construction work, whichever is the earlier.

Monitoring of work

17.—(1)It shall be the duty of the project manager of a worksite to continually review the progress of all high-risk construction work being carried out in the worksite to ensure that the high-risk construction work is carried out with due regard to the safety, health and welfare of the persons carrying out the high-risk construction work in the worksite.

(2) It shall be the duty of the supervisor of any person who carries out any high-risk construction work in a worksite —

(a)to ensure that the measures necessary to ensure the safety and health of the person at work are taken and are in place at all times during the validity period of the permit-to-work; and

(b)to inform the project manager of the worksite upon completion of the high-risk construction work.

Duty to report incompatible work

18.—(1)It shall be the duty of any person who is aware of any work being carried out in a worksite which is incompatible with any high-risk construction work being carried out in the worksite to immediately report the incompatible work to his supervisor, the workplace safety and health officer, the workplace safety and health co-ordinator or the project manager of the worksite.

(2)In this regulation, any work in a worksite which is carried out at or in the vicinity of any high-risk construction work and which is likely to pose a risk to the safety or health of persons at work in the worksite shall be treated as incompatible work.

Revocation of permit-to-work

19.If the project manager of a worksite who, after issuing a permit-to-work in respect of any high-risk construction work, is of the view that the carrying out of the high-risk construction work poses or is likely to pose a risk to the safety, health and welfare of persons at work in the worksite, he may order the high-risk construction work to cease immediately and revoke the permit-to-work

These are just some of the legal requirement for managing construction sites. To learn more refer to the Singapore Statues Online and update your organization compliance obligation procedure