Within the manufacturing sector, 38 fatal and major injuries came from metalworking, up from 18 incidents between July and December last year.
MOM said it will prioritise targeted inspections to detect and deter breaches in metalworking. A demerit point system will also take effect in the manufacturing sector from October.
In the construction sector, 58 fatal and major injuries were reported from “smaller scale works” such as addition and alteration works, renovation and facility management in the first half of this year. This is higher than the 48 recorded in the previous six-month period.
The ministry said it will work with relevant agencies to enhance safety standards for contractors involved in smaller-scale construction activities.
CAUSES OF INJURY
Type A incidents, which have a higher risk of fatality, accounted for 38 per cent of all major injuries in the first half of the year. Type A incidents include falls from height and vehicular-related incidents.
Common root causes of these injuries included inadequate fall prevention measures, unsafe worker behaviour and inadequate traffic management plans, said MOM.
Type B accidents, such as slips, trips and falls or machinery incidents, made up 62 per cent of major injuries. They may be caused by a lack of machine guarding, failure to provide anti-slip footwear or a lack of safety measures to manage the flow of goods, among other reasons.
MOM said the occupational diseases incidence rate increased to 37.2 per 100,000 workers in the first six months of 2023, up from 29.7 in the second half of last year.
“This increase was driven by the rise in reported noise-induced deafness cases due to ongoing enhanced workplace health surveillance efforts, which heightened awareness of reporting amongst doctors and employers and expanded the surveillance footprint,” the ministry said.