Public Consultation on Proposed Workplace Safety and Health (Scaffolds) Regulations

Ministry of Manpower - Occupational Safety and Health Division

Consultation Period: 11 Jul 2011 - 24 Jul 2011

Status: Closed

Summary

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is inviting members of the public to give feedback on the proposed Workplace Safety and Health (Scaffolds) Regulations.

Detailed Description

AIM
1. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is inviting members of the public to give feedback on the proposed Workplace Safety and Health (Scaffolds) Regulations.

BACKGROUND
2. The Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Act was enacted in 2006, replacing the former Factories Act. Existing subsidiary legislations made under the former Act continue to remain in force while the Ministry undertakes a review to update and align the Regulations to the new WSH Act.
3. The current coverage of the WSH (Scaffolds) Regulations is only applicable to factories. In line with the extension of the WSH Act to all workplaces by September 2011, the WSH (Scaffold) Regulations will also be amended to cover all workplaces. It is also timely to review the provisions of the Regulations.

PRINCIPLES OF REVIEW
4. The purpose of this review is to update and align the provisions in the Regulations to the WSH Act. This includes:
(a) Reviewing the original intent of the subsidiary legislation to establish whether it is still valid under the new WSH regime;
(b) Reviewing the intended coverage of the subsidiary legislations;
(c) Clarifying the intended duty holder for the provision; and
(d) Updating the provisions and removing of outdated or overly prescriptive provisions.

PROPOSED CHANGES

A. Approved Metal Scaffold
5. In moving away from a prescriptive approach, MOM proposes to remove the current requirement for metal scaffolds to be of a type approved by the Commissioner. Instead, all metal scaffolds are to be type tested by a recognised testing body to comply with a standard or specification that the Commissioner accepts. Such standards and specifications, as well as the list of testing bodies recognized by the Commissioner, will be made available to the public via a set of guidelines available on MOM’s website.

B. Designed by professional engineer
6. For scaffolds that need to be designed by a professional engineer (PE), the current Regulations do not impose any duties on the PE to ensure that he discharges his duty with due diligence. MOM proposes to impose the following duties on the PE:
(a) take reasonably practicable measures to ensure that his design can be executed safely by any person who erects, installs or uses the scaffold according to his design;
(b) provide to any person who erects or install the scaffold, all design documentation (including all relevant calculations, drawings and construction procedures) as is necessary to facilitate the proper erection or installation of the scaffold according to his design;
(c) ensure that the scaffold is erected or installed in accordance with the design of the PE who designed it; and
(d) issue a certificate stating that the scaffold is safe for its intended use.

C. Other changes
7. MOM seeks to provide greater clarity by assigning a definitive duty holder to every provision; aligning itself to one of the key features of the WSH Act.
8. We also incorporated other technical changes as follows:
(a) updating terminologies e.g. from Chief Inspector to Commissioner;
(b) inserting penalty provisions to commensurate with the corresponding offences, as well as a general penalty provision;
(c) inserting provisions relating to the application for, as well as suspension and cancellation of the certificate of approval for an approved scaffold contractor;
(d) amending outdated provisions; and
(e) making minor editorial enhancements to the overall structure and flow of the Regulations.

PERIOD OF CONSULTATION
10. MOM hereby invites members of public to participate in this consultation. The consultation exercise will last for two weeks, from 11 – 24 July 2011.

FEEDBACK CHANNEL
11. We seek your support to ensure that the consultation exercise is productive and focused. We would like to request that respondents follow these guidelines:
(a) Identify yourself and the organisation you represent (if any), as that would assist in our understanding of the impact of the proposed changes to different stakeholder groups;
(b) Make your comments clear and concise;
(c) Focus your comments on how the provisions and features can be improved or be made clearer; and
(d) As far as possible, explain your points with illustrations and examples.

12. Your feedback is important to us. We strongly encourage you to submit your feedback through this email address: mom_oshd_consultation@mom.gov.sg [Subject Heading: Consultation on WSH (Scaffolds) Regulations]. This will enable your feedback to reach us faster and speed up the process of consultation.

13. Alternatively, you can also send your comments via any of the following methods:
(a) Fax : 63171261
(b) Post : Ministry of Manpower
Occupational Safety and Health Division
18, Havelock Road #05-00
Singapore 059764
Attn : Mr Abdul Rahman

SUMMARY OF RESPONSES
14. We regret that we will not be able to individually address or acknowledge every comment we receive. However, we will consolidate and publish a summary of the key comments received, together with our responses, on the REACH website following the close of the consultation exercise. The summary will not disclose the identity of person(s) providing the feedback, to maintain confidentiality of the feedback received.

DOCUMENTS TO DOWNLOAD
15. For your convenience, the relevant documents relating to this public consultation exercise can be downloaded for further reference.

Annex A - WSH (Scaffolds) Regulations - for consultation [PDF, 130 KB]

Annex B - Template for submission of feedback [PDF, 41.4 KB]