INTRODUCTION

Since March 2022, there has been a increase in the trend of accidents related to working at heights in Singapore

MPA is taking a proactive approach to alert all personnel onboard to take all necessary measures and preventive actions when involved in operations at heights onboard the vessels.

The purpose of this safety notice is to raise awareness of SRS operators, Designated Persons (DPA), Masters and ship crew on the recent spate of accidents related to working at heights in Singapore.

WORK ENVIRONMENTS THAT POSE A FALL FROM HEIGHT RISK

• Raised work surfaces such as slopes.
• Slippery work surfaces (wet, oily, dusty or glazed)
• Openings in engine room floor plate, manholes and etc.
• Cramped work surfaces
• Work surfaces cluttered with tools, work materials and debris
• Working in adverse weather conditions – for example, in rain, strong or gusty winds, extreme heat or high humidity.
• Unprotected edges on deck or opened cargo hold without hatches
• Work on temporary structures such as scaffolding and portable platform

RECOMMENDATIONS

To prevent accidents while working at heights with risk of falls, ship staff should consider the following measures:

• Risk Assessment: It is also important for ship staff to understand fall hazards and the risks of injury associated with the tasks that they are undertaking. Before working at heights, ship staff should identify if hazards exist (e.g. open sides, openings on deck / structures, fragile surfaces). Start work at heights only after appropriate risk controls are put in place.
• Open side guarding:Ensure guard rails are installed at open sides where practicable to prevent falls.
• Fall protection:Where fall prevention such as guard rails is not practicable, ship staff should use fall arrest equipment and secured anchor point(s) or lifeline.
• Familiarisation on use of Personal Fall Arrest Systems: Ship staff should familiarise themselves with the correct fitting, anchorage of lifeline, use and maintenance of the personal fall arrest systems.
• Structural integrity: Assess the integrity of a temporary platform such as scaffolding or access ladder before embarkation.

Date	Details
24 May 2022	A worker was carrying out repair works on a sloping roof of a residential building when he slipped and fell about 20 metres to the ground. He was sent to the hospital where he passed away. Preliminary investigations revealed that the worker was not wearing fall arrest equipment at the time of accident.
19 May 2022	A worker was on the roof of a factory preparing for cleaning works when he fell through a skylight and landed 9.5 metres below. He was sent to the hospital, where he passed away. The worker was not wearing fall arrest equipment.
2 May 2022	The sole proprietor of a renovation company was surveying the 2nd floor of a shophouse, where the wooden flooring had been removed, exposing the floor beams and the false ceiling board of the 1st floor. He fell between the exposed floor beams, through the false ceiling board and landed about four metres below. He was sent to the hospital where he passed away. No fall prevention or protection measures were implemented.
21 April 2022	A worker suffered head injuries after falling about 1.2 m from an A-frame ladder while trying to hang items to the top of a tentage. He passed away two days later. The worker was wearing slippers when using the ladder and the floor was wet from rain.
8 April 2022	An engineer was on a maintenance catwalk performing inspections at the maintenance level of a building. One of the grating covers of the catwalk above the false ceiling had been removed as part of the inspection works. The engineer stepped on a false ceiling panel below the catwalk opening. The panel gave way, causing her to fall about 30 metres to her death. The engineer was not wearing fall arrest equipment.
28 March 2022	Three workers were on a scaffold erected around a gantry structure of a dredging vessel at a shipyard. The gantry structure suddenly dropped causing part of the scaffold to be flung to the dock bottom. Two of the workers fell about 20 metres to their death, while the third worker survived with minor injuries as he managed to cling onto a part of the structure.