New mandatory framework for building designs to protect workers and their safety

A construction worker is seen at the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) in the Henderson Crescent estate. The Manpower Ministry and Building and Construction Authority will lead a new workgroup to work out details of a mandatory framework that will incor
A construction worker is seen at the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) in the Henderson Crescent estate. The Manpower Ministry and Building and Construction Authority will lead a new workgroup to work out details of a mandatory framework that will incorporate the safety and protection of construction workers into the building plans. -- ST FILE PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG

The Manpower Ministry and Building and Construction Authority will lead a new workgroup to work out details of a mandatory framework that will incorporate the safety and protection of construction workers into the building plans.

The regulatory requirements and timeframe for their implementation will be announced by the end of this year, said Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam at the launch of this year's Workplace Safety and Health Campaign on Wednesday.

"Performing risk management would mean (developers and designers) have to make a conscious effort to collaborate with relevant experts to identify workplace safety and health risks in their designs and incorporate the necessary risk control solutions into the designs upfront," DPM Tharman said in his speech at Suntec Convention Centre. "Builders and facility operators will then have significantly fewer risks to manage downstream."

This Design for Safety approach has been promoted as a voluntary choice in Singapore since 2008, but will soon be legislated, as it is in the United Kingdom and Australia.

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