500kg pallet of glass crashes down at condo site; two hurt
Even as hundreds of contractors gathered at two separate events yesterday to discuss how to answer the Prime Minister’s call to make worksites safer, a pallet of glass panels came crashing down on two China workers.
The 500kg pallet pinned one of them, a 42-year-old, to the ground for 21/2 hours. His 41-year-old colleague escaped with just cuts to his left wrist.
It was a delicate task for the Singapore Civil Defence Force to get the trapped man out as any sudden movements could cause the 2cm-thick glass panels - each measuring 3.7m by 3.4m - to shatter.
Paramedics and a medical team from Tan Tock Seng Hospital supplied oxygen and kept the victim on an intravenous drip throughout.
He suffered a broken right arm and scratches to his body.
The accident happened at the worksite of a still-unnamed condominium in Kovan owned by Duke Development.
The builders, Lian Beng Construction, had been working at the site for several months. The publicly listed company did not respond by press time on how the accident happened.
The Manpower Ministry is looking into the matter and has asked the contractor to revise its loading and unloading method. The ministry said it will continue to inspect and review the safety practices of worksites under Lian Beng.
Just last week, PM Lee Hsien Loong set a target to slash worksite death rates to 1.8 per 100,000 workers within the next 10 years.
Two industry events yesterday also tried to drive home the safety message.
Contractors were reminded to keep a close watch on worksite safety at the Construction Safety, Health and Security campaign organised by the Singapore Contractors Association.
And the first bizSAFE workshop was conducted for about 200 subcontractors who work closely with the organiser, CPG Facilities Management.
Businesses which complete the five-session course would receive bizSAFE certification which will give them better recognition with clients looking for safe contractors.
Source : Straits Times - 6 May 2008
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