The Singapore International Facility Management Association (SIFMA) and the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council have jointly called on companies in the built environment and facilities management industry to conduct a Safety Time-Out (STO) from 9 May 2022.

The recent worrying spate of workplace fatalities across various industries is particularly concerning as some of the fatal cases were similar in nature to cases that occurred last year.  Preliminary investigations revealed that a common factor among these facilities was the basic safety and health control measures such as wearing of seat belts in forklifts, or fall protection gear while working at heights were either inadequate or not in place at all.  Lives would have been saved if these well-established control measures were taken.

To address this spate of fatalities, SIFMA together with WSH Council embarked on a STO Campaign to generate mass awareness of the need for companies to review their WSH management systems, and learn from past accidents, via what is known as a STO.

STO typically involves taking a pause in work for senior management to engage workers and unions in reinforcing WSH processes, and to act on any issues raised.  STO also urges senior management to ensure that learning points from past accidents are shared wth all workers.  Doing so enables all parties to be aligned in their goals towards achieving better WSH practices.

The last time the WSH Council called for a nation-wide STO was on 25 June 2021.  For more information on what companies can do to conduct an STO, please visit   www.wshc.sg/resources.

STO sessions conducted by SIFMA members: