Action must be taken, say experts

PETALING JAYA: The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh) views the incident at the Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang Elevated Highway (SUKE) project seriously, says its vice-chairman Senator Datuk T. Mohan.

He noted this was the second incident this year involving the same construction site.

He reminded developers, main contractors and subcontractors at all construction sites to ensure that they strictly complied with legal provisions and safe working procedures.

“The Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 clearly states that industry owners are responsible not only to their workers and contractors, but also to the general public, ” he said in a statement yesterday.

Earlier yesterday, three foreign workers died after a construction crane fell along the SUKE site.

Niosh also advised developers and contractors to adopt the guidelines of hazard identification, risk assessment and control at construction sites in order to help workers identify hazards and risks.

“The guidelines will also help find ways to avoid accidents and reduce the possibility of accidents injuring the public.

“Employers need to be committed to maintaining the safety and health of their employees as well as the public who are exposed to the dangers and risks, ” said Mohan.

Employers, he added, must take proactive steps to ensure that their workplace was monitored on a daily basis.

“Contractors must make it a point to regularly review safety aspects at construction sites.

“This is why the role of personnel or competent persons in occupational safety and health, such as safety and health officers and site safety supervisors, is extremely crucial to ensure constant safety at project sites.

“There should be no compromises made on this, ” he stressed.

Mohan stressed that the authorities would conduct further investigations to determine the cause of the mishap, including looking into various aspects such as the condition of the crane and its operator, the current condition of the work zone as well as the weather conditions during work procedures.

“Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control and Safety and Health Assessment System in Construction methods for each work activity may eliminate the risks of similar mishaps occurring in the future, ” he added.

The relevant authorities should sit down and discuss whether roads should be closed off while major highway projects are ongoing, or risk the area turning into a death trap, said Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.

The Alliance for Safe Community chairman said the authorities should give more attention to site safety and examine whether the area surrounding a construction site was suitable to be used by the public.

“A construction site should be examined to determine whether the roads around it should be sealed off and traffic diverted elsewhere.

“We can see there are major highway projects going on, but the public can still pass through them.

“When you look up you can see all the concrete beams and some people worry whether the beams will fall, especially during rush hour or traffic jams, ” Lee said.

He added that the contractor or the developer of the SUKE project should take full responsibility for the tragic incident.

“This is very tragic as it involves loss of lives. This is totally preventable, and we need to see if they had conducted enough safety audits and operated in accordance with the law, ” said Lee, who is also the former chairman of Niosh.

He called on the government to find out what had caused the incident and to take stern action.

“This is not the first time we hear of such cases. It is rather disappointing that the public has yet to find out the outcome of the previous cases," he said.

“How many of them have been held responsible and brought to justice? The government must be more accountable and transparent in such cases.

“The outcome of each investigation must be made known and action must be taken against them (those responsible), ” he added.