Worksite Accident at Downtown Line Bugis Station

We are all saddened by the news that two workers had to lose their lives as a result of the accident at the worksite of the new Downtown Line Bugis station. This is a stark reminder that accidents can happen at any time which can result in the loss of lives, injuries or even damage to public and private properties. We must, therefore, be on our guard and take the necessary precautionary measures to ensure that work is carried out without risk to our workers.

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The Ministry of Manpower will not tolerate employers who contravene safety regulations. If employers are found to be endangering the lives of their workers, firm enforcement actions will be taken.

We are currently investigating the cause of the Downtown Line accident. As such, I will only share some preliminary findings. A group of workers were concreting the roof slab of a linkway to connect the existing East-West line to the Downtown Line at Bugis station. Most of the concreting work had been completed when sometime between 6.00 am and 6.50 am on 18 July 2012, the formwork collapsed. Two workers who were working underneath the structure at the time of the accident died, while the eight workers who were working on top of the structure suffered minor injuries.

Following the accident, BCA conducted the necessary checks to ensure that the structural safety of the surrounding buildings and the road above were not affected. My Ministry ordered all formworks and concreting works at the accident worksite to cease so that risk assessments and work procedures at the worksite could be reviewed. At the same time, the company was required to devise and submit a recovery plan to remove the collapsed formwork structure and its associated material safely. After a thorough review of the company's work procedures as well as their submitted recovery plan to ensure that all necessary safety precautions were in place, we lifted the stop-work order on 28 August 2012.

One of the areas that we are investigating is whether fatigue and extended working hours could have contributed to the accident. If the employer is found to have breached any regulations on hours of work under the Employment Act, relevant action will be taken.

Other areas of investigation that we are focusing on include the adequacy of the formwork structure design, the conformity of the erected formwork to the approved design and the quality of formwork structure material. In the course of our investigation, we will continue to share, where appropriate, the findings that may have an impact on formwork processes at worksites to ensure work safety.

Sir, I thank the Acting Minister for his response. A couple of supplementary questions. One is, we learned that two Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) officers suffered chemical burns. How did this happen because, apparently, the workers were found to be covered with wet cement, but the DART officers had chemical burns? Second question is, going forward, would MOM, LTA, SCDF and the employers look into improving the rescue plans and rescue operations? Apparently, this is a seven-hour complex operation. What have they learned from that?

I would like to thank the Member for the supplementary questions. I do not have the specific details. But what I would say is that I would like to just take the opportunity again to place on record our thanks for the DART officers who performed admirably. As mentioned, it is a complex operation. As with all operations, I am quite sure that SCDF will conduct its own after-action review to see how the operation was carried out and if any lessons were learned, and to continually improve. That is something that I am quite confident that they will be doing.

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Similarly, in terms of the chemical burns suffered by the officers, I am quite confident that that is something that they are looking at as well and they will follow up, in terms of future adjustments or procedural change if need be. I do not have the specific details with regard to that. But I believe those would be the steps that would be taken by SCDF.

Mr Speaker, with regard to the Workplace Safety and Health Act, Part IX, clause 58, there is a requirement that formwork pouring of cement be able to hold up two times the weight of cement that it is designed to hold. However, there is also an understanding within the industry that this requirement is not usually followed. If it is in the Act and if the investigations find that in this particular case the formwork factor weight is not taken into consideration, will the Ministry look into further strengthening of the Act as well as enforcement of the requirements under that?

At the same time, the Institute of Engineers of Singapore had issued a statement saying that with regard to the accident, the workers should not be under the scaffolding in the first place. This is not covered under the Workplace Safety and Health Act. Would the Ministry also similarly consider strengthening the Act in this area?

I would like to thank the Member for the follow-up questions. If he has specific details about how contractors are deliberately contravening the regulations, we will be quite happy to look into the details. But as mentioned, the investigations will take place and if the company is found to have violated any of the requirements, we will take the necessary actions. Similarly, this would also apply to the latter point raised about workers under the formwork structures. Let us allow the investigation to run its course. We will take note of the findings, and we will carry out adjustments and actions accordingly.

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