and any potential risk to workers or members of
the public during construction and to those who
use the building as a workplace, or to people who
maintain or clean the building once it is built. In
a way, project success should relate to good
planning and design, which not only protect those
who construct it, but also those who will use and
maintain the structure.
Have we made progress in Occupational
Safety & Health performance?
The number of workers killed in construction
accidents in the country is still high. In fact, for
the past six years, more workers have been killed
on construction sites than any other workplace in
Malaysia. In 2017, the number of workers killed
in construction incidents was 183, an increase
of about 14% from 2016 7 . But this is only one
measure of performance. The rate at which
workers killed while working at a site is also very
high. In 2017, about 15 workers died in every
100,000 people who work in the construction
industry (similar to the UK figure in 1974 which
was about 16 fatalities per 100,000 workers).
Figure 1 shows the relative construction fatal
accident rates for Malaysia, the UK and Australia.
The rate indicates the number of deaths per
100,000 workers for the past six years. It may
be unfair to compare Malaysian fatalities with
the UK and Australia, because many years ago
they adopted OSHCIM 8 -like legislations. The
graphic in Figure 1 indicates that construction
sites in Malaysia are so hazardous that the rate
of fatalities is 10 times greater than the workforce
in the UK. These are the people that make
the project development possible. And these
figures do not include deaths from work-related
ill health and disease, and other serious injuries.
More importantly, these figures are considered
unacceptable.
It is time for change. It is very easy to see that
our safety and health performance is not at the
right end of the scale. Safety and health failings
7
8
Figure 1: The relative construction fatal accident
rates for Malaysia, the UK and Australia.
often leave a legacy of pain, suffering and human
misery that can last a lifetime. The professionals
working on a construction project can help to stop
the trend, by being ahead of the game. Safety and
health risks need to be recognised as early as the
planning and design stage, and be acted upon
and incorporated in all the phases of the project,
namely construction, operation and maintenance.
Members of workforce have a fundamental right
to work in an environment where their safety and
health risks are properly controlled.
Costs and causes of accidents
As businesses fight for survival, it is essential
that the safety and health agenda is positioned
on the right side of the line. As suggested by the
accident iceberg in Figure 2, ensuring safety and
health has to be part of helping a business to
increase efficiency, reduce cost, and motivate the
workers. In those businesses and organisations
where safety and health is perceived as a
cost or a burden and worse, considered as
Provisional figure of fatalities in 2018 is 113, about 38% decrease from 2017. Refer https://www.thestar.com.my/news/
nation/2019/04/17/mahfuz-osh-act-amendments-with-stiffer-penalties-being-drafted/
Occupational Safety and Health in Construction Industry (Management) Guidelines 2017 is available online at http://www.
dosh.gov.my/index.php/en/legislation/guidelines/building-construction-engineering-work/2498-booklet-guidelines-of-
occupational-safety-and-health-in-construction-industry/file
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