Closing Remarks by Mr Daniel T’ng,
Co-Chairperson of the Workplace Safety and Health Council (Facilities Management) Committee at the
WSH Challenges & Smart Solutions Webinar 2020 on
Friday, 4 December 2020, 4:40pm
Mr Tony Khoo, President, Singapore International Facility Management Association,
Ms Aileen Tan, Co-Chairperson, WSH Council (Facilities Management) Committee,
Distinguished speakers,
Industry partners and supporters,
Ladies and gentlemen.
1.We have come to the end of the webinar. I hope you have enjoyed our interactive segment earlier, discovering your personas and gaining a better understanding on how healthy you are at work.
Call for everyone to place greater focus on health
2.Staying healthy is important. Companies can have safeguards in the work environment to keep workers safe; but if we are not healthy, we will not be able to work safely or to even work at all.
3.We heard from Mr Darren Loh from the Ministry of Manpower on the new Safe Management Measures which took effect from 28 September. It is important that that we comply with the Safe Management Measures to keep COVID-19 at bay and that all workers are kept safe. We should never be complacent.
4.However, it is not just about physical health, but mental health as well. Last month, Minister for Manpower Mrs Josephine Teo announced the release of the Tripartite Advisory on Mental Well-being at Workplaces to help employers build a healthy and productive workforce.
5.This is important for us as we have a sizeable mature worker especially in the Cleaning and Security sectors, and we need to pay more attention to their physical and mental well-being as they are front liners.
Companies must take ownership to keep workers safe and healthy
6.As employers, we play a very important role in keeping your workers healthy and safe. Nobody should lose their lives at work. This is especially important as Singapore restarts its economy, and more importantly, as companies resume operations after a period of inactivity due to the Circuit Breaker, I urge all employers to take steps to remind and re-train your workers on the importance of safety and refresh their WSH muscle memories.
7.I am heartened to hear from Mr Jourdan Sabapathy from the Security Association Singapore (SAS), and Mr Oliver Meili from Bosch who had exhibited their ownership in WSH through their many initiatives, products and services. It is through strong ownership that we can build a pervasive culture of prevention within the organisation and keep workers safe and healthy.
Leverage technology to push WSH efforts
8.Besides putting safety measures in place, we have also heard from Mr Lim Jo Hann from Chye Thiam Maintenance Pte Ltd on some of the technology available to create safer workplaces, and for workers to perform their tasks safely and effectively.
9.Technology is an enabler for companies to improve their WSH standards and performance. Due to COVID-19, businesses had to reinvent themselves and adopt technology to sustain their operations. Similarly, FM companies can and should continue to leverage technology to help improve their WSH efforts and outcomes.
Conclusion
10.Before I conclude, I am sure you have read that there had been three workplace fatalities last week. The WSH Council and Singapore Contractors Association Limited subsequently issued a joint advisory calling companies to conduct a Safety Time-Out (STO) to review their WSH provisions and address any potential lapses.
11.I hope we can do likewise and conduct an STO at our own workplaces. We can also do our part to prevent further fatalities by bringing back these three key takeaways from the webinar: Health, Ownership and Technology our organisations.
12.I thank the speakers for their valuable insights shared, and to everyone for your time to attend this webinar. I wish you all the best in your company’s WSH efforts. Together, we can prevent all accidents and ill-health so that our workers can go home safe and healthy to their loved ones daily.
Thank you.