THE good news: Fewer people died at the workplace last year, with the fatality rate down to 2.9 deaths for every 100,000 workers, from 3.1 in 2006.

The not so good news: Workplace injuries rose 8 per cent to breach the 10,000 mark last year.

Two sectors - construction and manufacturing - stood up for the wrong reasons in the annual workplace safety report card, which was presented at a workplace safety and health seminar on Tuesday morning.

In his speech, Mr Heng Chiang Gnee, deputy chairman-designate of the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council, said the falling fatality rate shows that Singapore is on track to achieving its target of halving the workplace fatality rate from 4.9 in 2004 to 2.5 by 2015.

He said the construction sector accounted for the highest number of fatalities - 24 each for 2006 and 2007. The manufacturing sector saw more than a two-fold increase in fatalities from 7 in 2006 to 16 in 2007.

More than half of the employees who died in workplace accidents in 2007 were due to either falling from heights or being struck by falling objects.

Mr Heng said the new areas needing greater attention are fires and exposure to flammable and poisonous substances, demolition work and crane-related activities.

He also highlighted key strategic intervention areas under the Programme-Based Engagement initiative or ProBE, as it is commonly known now, for the year ahead.

Since the launch of ProBE two years ago, more than 5,000 companies have been engaged through various activities.

The WSH Council has also distributed checklists, technical advisories and guidelines as practical tools to aid industry. These have helped industry partners to identify hazards, implement measures to reduce and prevent accidents in the high-risk areas.

These initiatives, coupled with industry's commitment, have resulted in a 22 per cent drop in fatalities- from 3.1 per 100,000 workers in 2006, to 2.9 in 2007.

On the priorities for this year, Mr Heng said the Advisory Committee and MOM have identified these areas:

- Work involving machines dangerous to hands, which accounted for more than 160 cases of permanent disablements - an increase from 94 cases in 2005.

-Work involving flammable and haazardous substances, which accounted for 14 per cent of workplace fatalities last year.

These substances are largely present in the process, chemical and marine industries. They pose fire and explosion risks with the potential for extensive injury, extended down-time and expensive property damage.

For example, a fire in an oil refinery last year resulted in two workers being killed instantly on site. Two other workers suffered severe burns, of which one succumbed to his injuries subsequently. All operations at the refinery related to the accident had to stop because of the incident.

- Work at heights, which contributed to more than one-third of all workplace fatalities. More than 60 per cent of fall from height cases were in the construction industry.

En-bloc sales raise risks of demolition works
Two other areas will also be targeted this year - demolition and crane-related activities.

There were three deaths arising from demolition works late last year.

'With the rise in the number of collective property sales, we see an increase in demolition works which are potentially hazadous,' said Mr Heng.

'There is a clear need to pay more attention to prevent accidents from demolition activities'.