Workplace Safety & Health 2007 (January - June) National Statistics Workplace Safety and Health 2006 Statistical Highlights
CONTENTS Highlights 1 Introduction 2 Analysis of Workplace Injuries 3 Overview 3 Accident Frequency Rate 4 Accident Severity Rate 5 HIGHLIGHTS This report provides the latest statistics on work-related health and safety in Singapore. Key facts for January to June 2007 are: There were 4,839 workplace injuries reported. There were 25 employees killed at work, with 11 from the manufacturing sector. There were 71 employees involved in accidents leading to permanent disablements. There were 190 cases of confirmed occupational diseases, with noise-induced deafness cases and industrial dermatitis being the top two contributors. Sectoral Analysis 6 Fatal Workplace Injuries 6 Permanent Disablements 7 Temporary Disablements 8 Analysis of Occupational Diseases 10 Overview 10 Sectoral Analysis 10 List of Charts and Tables 12 1
INTRODUCTION This report provides an update of Singapore's workplace safety and health landscape, focusing on workplace injuries and occupational diseases. The report identifies the key sectors that contributed to workplace injuries in the period January to June 2007 and examines the accident profile in terms of type of accidents. The various types of occupational diseases in the major sectors are also examined in this report. The data was provided by the Ministry of Manpower. Information on workplace injuries and occupational diseases are collected from incident reports made by employers, occupiers and medical practitioners in the fulfillment of their obligations under the Workplace Safety and Health (Incident Reporting) Regulations. DATA COVERAGE The types of workplace injuries and occupational diseases covered in the reported statistics include the following: Workplace injuries sustained by employees and resulting in more than 3 consecutive days of medical leave; Workplace injuries sustained by employees and resulting in at least 24 hours of hospitalisation; Workplace accidents resulting in the death of employees, self-employed persons and persons not at work; Workplace accidents resulting in the injury of self-employed persons and persons not at work who have to be taken to the hospital for treatment; Dangerous occurrences listed in the Second Schedule of the Workplace Safety and Health Act; and Occupational diseases listed in the Third Schedule of the Workplace Safety and Health Act. ANALYSIS OF WORKPLACE INJURIES OVERVIEW There were 4,839 workplace injuries 1 (including fatalities) reported to MOM in the first half of 2007, at a halfyearly rate of 245 injuries per 100,000 employees (Table 1 and 2). There were 25 fatalities in January-June 2007, down from 28 in the same period last year. Permanent disablements recorded an almost 7% drop while less severe workplace injuries (involving temporary disablements) saw an increase of about 20%, mainly from sectors that are new to the safety and health reporting regime 2. Table 1: Number of Workplace Injuries and Occupational Diseases, 2006/2007 p (Whole Year) (Jan-Jun) (Jan-Jun) Overall Workplace Injuries 9,261 4,070 4,839 Fatal 62 28 25 Permanent Disablement 168 76 71 Temporary Disablement 9,031 3,966 4,743 Table 2: Workplace Injury Rate and Occupational Disease Incidence, 2006/2007 p Per 100,000 Employees Overall Workplace Injury Rate 3 469 206 245 Fatal 3.1 1.4 1.3 Permanent Disablement 8.5 3.9 3.6 Temporary Disablement 458 201 240 1 A workplace injury is any personal injury, diesease (acute) or death resulting from a workplace accident. Please refer to the annex for the types of workplace injuries covered. 2 This refers to the WSH Incident Reporting Regulations which require all workplaces to report work-related accidents even though they are currently not covered under Schedule I of the WSH Act. 3 Workplace Injury Rate = No. of Fatal and Non-Fatal Workplace Injuries No. of Employed Persons X 100,000 2 3
ACCIDENT FREQUENCY RATE The Accident Frequency Rate 4 (AFR) measures how often workplace accidents happen. In the first half of 2007, the overall AFR was higher as compared to the first half of 2006 (Table 3). Table 3: Accident Frequency Rate, 2006/2007 p Per Million Man-hours Worked Sector All Sectors 1.9 0.8 1.0 Construction 3.5 1.6 1.7 Shipbuilding and Ship Repair (SSR) 2.2 1.0 0.8 Manufacturing (excluding SSR) 2.6 1.2 1.3 Metalworking 5 4.1 1.9 2.1 Food, Beverages and Tobacco 4.8 2.3 2.2 Electronic Products 0.8 0.4 0.4 Other Sectors 1.3 0.5 0.7 Wholesale and Retail Trade 0.4 0.2 0.2 Transport and Storage 1.4 0.7 0.6 Hotels and Restaurants 1.9 0.8 1.2 4 Accident Frequency Rate (AFR) = No. of Workplace Accidents Reported X 1,000,000 No. of Man-hours Worked 5 Metalworking sector consists of the following subsectors : Manufacture of basic metal Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment Manufacture of machinery and equipment Manufacture of electrical machinery and apparatus ACCIDENT SEVERITY RATE The Accident Severity Rate 6 (ASR) measures the productivity lost from workplace injuries based on the number of mandays lost due to workplace accidents. The rate for the first half of 2007 stayed roughly the same as that of the same period in 2006. ASR was the highest for construction and manufacturing, with metalworking being the subsector with the highest ASR (Table 4). Table 4: Accident Severity Rate, 2006/2007 p Per Million Man-hours Worked Sector All Sectors 125 55 54 Construction 272 132 91 Shipbuilding and Ship Repair (SSR) 257 198 83 Manufacturing (excluding SSR) 93 35 91 Metalworking 109 41 175 Food, Beverages and Tobacco 177 131 43 Electronic Products 13 6 8 Other Sectors 86 26 26 Wholesale and Retail Trade 17 4 13 Transport and Storage 242 71 24 Hotels and Restaurants 31 11 18 6 Accident Severity Rate (ASR) = No. of Mandays Lost To Workplace Accidents X 1,000,000 No. of Man-hours Worked 4 5
SECTORAL ANALYSIS FATAL WORKPLACE INJURIES Manufacturing recorded the highest number of workplace fatalities for the period January-June 2007, accounting for 11 of the 25 deaths. This was a big jump as compared to 2 deaths in the same period last year (Table 5). Metalworking and petrochemical were the main contributors to workplace deaths in this sector. A total of 4 fatalities occurred as a result of fire in petrochemical while another 3 fatalities occurred as a result of being struck by falling objects in metalworking (Table 6). PERMANENT DISABLEMENTS Permanent disablements are the more serious type of injuries, involving the complete loss or loss of use of any member/part of a member of the injured victim's body. Examples include the loss of one eye and amputation of an arm or a finger. There were fewer permanent disablements in the first half of 2007 as compared to the same period a year ago (Table 7). Of the 71 permanent disablements reported, about half of the victims (i.e. 35 injuries) were from manufacturing. Its sub-sector, metalworking, alone had 17 such severe injuries. Table 7: Number of Permanent Disablements, Jan-Jun 2006/2007 p Table 5: Workplace Fatalities by Industry, Jan-Jun 2006/2007 p All Sectors 62 28 25 Construction 24 11 6 Shipbuilding and Ship Repair (SSR) 10 8 3 Manufacturing (excluding SSR) 7 2 11 Metalworking 1 0 6 Petrochemical 1 0 4 Other Sectors 21 7 5 All Sectors 168 76 71 Construction 27 10 17 Shipbuilding and Ship Repair (SSR) 16 9 5 Manufacturing (excluding SSR) 82 41 35 Metalworking 44 22 17 Food, Beverages and Tobacco 9 7 4 Electronic Products 4 2 0 Other Sectors 43 16 14 Wholesale and Retail Trade 7 3 2 Transport and Storage 10 1 2 Hotels and Restaurants 5 2 1 Table 6: Workplace Fatalities by Type of Accident, Jan-Jun 2007 p Table 8: Permanent Disablement Rate by Industry, Jan-Jun 2006/2007 p Involves piling activities Involves lifting activity Involves a lift car Involves a lorry Sector Total Fall Struck by falling Caught between Fire or Drowning from or moving object objects exposed heights to heat All Sectors 25 7 9 2 5 2 Construction 6 2 2 1 1 Shipbuilding 3 2 1 and Ship Repair (SSR) Manufacturing (excluding SSR) Metalworking 6 2 3 1 Petrochemical 4 4 Other 1 1 Manufacturing Per 100,000 Employees All Sectors 8.5 3.9 3.6 Construction 10.6 3.9 6.7 Shipbuilding and Ship Repair (SSR) 15.6 8.8 4.9 Manufacturing (excluding SSR) 19.8 9.9 8.4 Metalworking 39.2 19.6 15.2 Food, Beverages and Tobacco 29.9 23.3 13.3 Electronic Products 3.6 1.8 0.0 Other Sectors 3.6 1.3 1.2 Wholesale and Retail Trade 1.9 0.8 0.5 Transport and Storage 5.6 0.6 1.1 Hotels and Restaurants 3.4 1.4 0.7 Other Sectors 5 3 1 1 6 7
By accident type, the top contributor to permanent disablements was being caught in or between objects (67%). Close to one-fifth (18%) of the permanent disablements were contributed by stepping on, striking against or struck by objects (Chart 1). The same observation was made across all sectors. Table 10: Temporary Disablement Rate by Industry, 2006/2007 p Per 100,000 Employees Chart 1: Distribution of Permanent Disablements by Type, Jan-Jun 2007 p 71 permanent disablements Other types of accidents 15% All Sectors 458 201 240 Construction 925 431 443 Shipbuilding and Ship Repair (SSR) 597 277 227 Manufacturing (excluding SSR) 641 301 327 Metalworking 1069 497 553 Food, Beverages and Tobacco 1153 542 535 Electronic Products 185 93 95 Other Sectors 283 111 168 Wholesale and Retail Trade 97 39 54 Transport and Storage 325 170 147 Hotels and Restaurants 393 166 238 Caught in or between objects 67% TEMPORARY DISABLEMENTS Stepping on, striking against or struck by objects 18% Table 11 shows that at the overall level, the top three accident types 7 leading to temporary disablements were: (a) Step on, strike against or struck by objects (b) Falls (c) Caught in or between objects Among the four major sectors, the number and rate of temporary disablements for the first half of 2007 has increased as compared to the same period last year, with the exception of shipbuilding and ship repair (Table 9 and10). Table 9: Number of Temporary Disablements, 2006/2007 p In shipbuilding and ship repair, construction and manufacturing, the temporary disablements sustained by victims were most likely a result of being struck by something. However, it was falls (predominantly slips and trips) that led to the most injuries in the others sector. Table 11: Top 3 Accident Types for Temporary Disablements, Jan - Jun 2007 p All Sectors 9031 3966 4743 Construction 2364 1100 1133 Shipbuilding and Ship Repair (SSR) 612 284 233 Manufacturing (excluding SSR) 2659 1248 1359 Metalworking 1199 558 620 Food, Beverages and Tobacco 347 163 161 Electronic Products 206 103 106 Other Sectors 3396 1334 2018 Wholesale and Retail Trade 353 141 198 Transport and Storage 582 305 264 Hotels and Restaurants 573 242 347 Top 3 Accidents Types Sector 1st 2nd 3rd All Sectors Construction Shipbuilding and Ship Repair (SSR) Manufacturing (excluding SSR) Metalworking Food, Beverages and Tobacco Step on, strike against or struck by objects Falls Caught in or between objects Struck by falling objects Electronic Products Other Sectors 8 9 7 Accident type refers to the type of event which resulted in an injury
ANALYSIS OF OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES Chart 2: Distribution of Occupational Diseases by Type, Jan-Jun 2007 p OVERVIEW For occupational diseases 8, there were 190 confirmed cases in the first half of 2007, a 33% decrease as compared to the same period last year. Table 12: Number of Occupational Diseases, 2006/2007 p (Whole Year) (Jan-Jun) (Jan-Jun) Occupational Diseases 657 281 190 Table 13: Occupational Disease Incidence, 2006/2007 p Per 100,000 Employees Occupational Disease Incidence 9 33.3 14.2 9.6 Noise-induced deafness 151 (79.5%) Industrial dermatitis 28 (14.7%) Excessive absorption of chemicals 3 (1.6%) Barotrauma 2 (1.1%) Occupational lung diseases 2 (1.1%) Work-related musculoskeletal disorder 3 (1.6%) Compressed air illness 1 (0.5%) SECTORAL ANALYSIS Table 14: Number of Occupational Dieseases by Sector, Jan-Jun 2007 p Noise-induced deafness (NID) continued to be the leading occupational disease, accounting for four-fifths (79.5%) of the cases confirmed. Industrial dermatitis (ID) ranked second, taking up a share of 14.7% (Chart 2). Most sectors saw fewer confirmed cases of occupational diseases in the first six months of 2007. Shipbuilding and ship repair witnessed the largest extent of decline at 59%, as compared to the same period last year (Table 12). Manufacturing was the dominant contributor of occupational diseases among the four broad sectors. Within this sector, the metalworking and transport equipment sub-sectors accounted for close to two-thirds (66%) of its confirmed cases. Number of Confirmed Cases (Whole Year) (Jan-Jun) (Jan-Jun) All Sectors 657 281 190 Construction 52 13 15 Shipbuilding & Ship Repair (SSR) 68 37 15 Manufacturing (excluding SSR) 436 185 122 Metalworking 226 103 45 Transport Equipment 53 17 35 Others 101 46 38 8 An occupational disease is a disease (chronic) contracted as a result of an exposure over a period of time to risk factors arising from work activity. A confirmed case of occupational disease is one where there is definite evidence that the worker suffers from a disease which is related to his occupation..9 No. of Occupational Diseases (i.e. chronic confirmed cases) Occupational Disease Incidence = X 100,000 No. of Employed Persons 10 11
LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES CHARTS Chart 1 : Distribution of Permanent Disablements by Type, Jan-Jun 2007 p 8 Chart 2 : Distribution of Occupational Diseases by Type, Jan-Jun 2007 p 11 TABLES Table 1 : Number of Workplace Injuries and Occupational Diseases, 2006/2007 p 3 Table 2 : Workplace Injury Rate and Occupational Disease Incidence, 2006/2007 p 3 Table 3 : Accident Frequency Rate, 2006/2007 p 4 Table 4 : Accident Severity Rate, 2006/2007 p 5 Table 5 : Workplace Fatalities by Industry, Jan-Jun 2006/2007 p 6 Table 6 : Workplace Fatalities by Type of Accident, Jan-Jun 2007 p 6 Table 7 : Number of Permanent Disablements, Jan-Jun 2006/2007 p 7 Table 8 : Permanent Disablements Rate by Industry, Jan-Jun 2006/2007 p 7 Table 9 : Number of Temporary Disablements, 2006/2007 p 8 Table 10: Temporary Disablements Rate by Industry, 2006/2007 p 9 Table 11: Top 3 Accident Types for Temporary Disablements, Jan-Jun 2007 p 9 Table 12: Number of Occupational Diseases, 2006/2007 p 10 Table 13: Occupational Disease Incidence, 2006/2007 p 10 Table 14: Number of Occupational Diseases by Sector, Jan-Jun 2007 p 11 12
published by WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE