The Association of Process Industry (ASPRI) has been a supportive and avid partner of the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council, in building workplace safety and health (WSH) capability for the process construction and maintenance (PCM) industry.
This year was off to a rocky start, with an alarming spate of fatal accidents occurring in April and May. Ministry of Manpower (MOM), WSH Council, National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), and various industry associations have called on companies to conduct a Safety Time-Out (STO). Companies carrying out an STO usually suspend operations temporarily, so senior management can engage workers and unions to reinforce WSH processes, and to act on any issues raised. Learning points from past accidents can also be shared with all workers during this pause in work.
It was reported that a common factor among these accidents was that basic safety and health control measures were either inadequate or not in place at all. Mishaps in the process industry have the potential to be catastrophic, and the measures that have been put in place were done so specifically to prevent such incidents. Therefore, I urge constant vigilance and awareness from the PCM industry.
The COVID-19 situation had been especially challenging for everyone, and the PCM industry is no exception. Seeing how keeping operations going with resource constraints had taken a toll on us, physically and mentally, I find it most apt to quote the tagline from our National WSH Campaign, “Take Time to Take Care”. It is a simple reminder that we should never forget to refresh and recharge, because however pressing the work may be, it can never be more important than our own health and safety.
On behalf of the WSH Council, I would like to congratulate ASPRI on the publication of the Directory of Singapore Process and Chemicals Industries, 2022/2023 edition. ASPRI has consistently spearheaded WSH initiatives for the PCM industry with resolution, and the WSH Council is grateful for the steadfast partnership.
Lim Keng Yang
Chairman, WSH Council (Chemical Industries) Committee