Why Safety Time Out is important?

According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), 10 of the 20 fatalities occurred in April, bringing the total number of deaths to more than double that in 2016. With the recent fatalities, MOM along with Workplace Safety and Health Council, Industry Associations and NTUC have joined calls for employers to introduce a two-week Safety Time Out, in which enterprises are compelled to take time away from their regular work schedules to examine workplace safety and health procedures. Every life is valuable, and we should prioritise the safety of our employees. This should be treated even more strictly in the logistics industry, where there are many heavy machines and people must work at greater heights. To reduce any potential hazards for our employees, we should encourage a safe and healthy workplace as a company. A safe and healthy workplace can help not just to reduce possible hazards, but also improve overall productivity. Workplace safety is extremely important for every person in the sector since everyone wants to work in a safe and secure environment. Many of these incidents can be avoided in the future with everyone’s participation and the implementation of proper safety measures.

What is Safety Time Out?

A Safety Time Out (STO) is a scheduled event in which companies take time away from their regular work schedules to examine and review their workplace safety and health (WSH) systems and processes, and then put risk-control measures in place to protect employees and company’s equipment.

How does STO take place in Sin Chew?

Our in-house safety team will analyse site practices and risk assessments during the STO by:

• Safety briefing to increase staff understanding of current risk and safety measures
• Exchange useful information with employees to improve and maintain the safety aspects of the operation
• Determining if existing systems and procedures need to be improved or changed.
• Determining whether or not physical equipment or machinery are suitable for the task.
• Assessing personnel competency for the work and determining whether or not refresher training is required.
• Taking proactive steps to remedy detected flaws in order to avoid accidents and injuries.
• Conduct a site walk-through to encourage employees to report safety issues and any defects to their team leaders.
• Request that workers express any safety concerns they may have, and assure them that they will not be punished for doing so.
• Emphasise to supervisors and site/project managers that they are accountable for resolving these issues and taking the time to speak to the workers about any concerns.

If you would like to know more about our safety officer roles and responsibilities, click here