SINGAPORE: Singapore's Acting Minister for Manpower Gan Kim Yong has cautioned construction firms from compromising on safety just to cut costs during this business downturn.

Speaking at the Construction CEO Summit on Tuesday, Mr Gan said doing so would be short-sighted and dangerous.

He pointed out that construction firms that compromise on safety standards may eventually find it more costly when work is disrupted by accidents.

Citing construction company Bovis Lend Lease, Mr Gan said it has successfully completed 10 million man hours with no serious injuries to its more than 4,000 workers in two projects, which are worth a total of S$840 million.

Twenty CEOs from construction and design firms at the summit pledged their commitment to establish a zero injury workplace.

By signing the "Pledge for Zero - A CEO Commitment Charter", the CEOs acknowledge that the management's priorities go beyond traditional business concerns to include safety performance.

They will have to put in place the governance structure, resource allocation, communication and safety strategies required to achieve a zero injury workplace.

Mr Gan said a good start would be to apply the new guidelines on "Design for Safety for Buildings and Structures". This initiative aims to incorporate safety management at the start of any construction project - namely, design.

For example, to ensure that a building is safe to build, a designer should specify the use of less hazardous materials such as solvent free adhesives or water-based paints in the construction phase.

For safety in maintenance, designers can design safe access to rooftops so as to reduce the use of ladder and scaffolds.

For safety in demolition, designers can also specify in their designs where the tension cables are located to allow for safe removal during future demolition.

Mr Gan noted that over the years, efforts by the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council Construction and Landscaping Committee have been encouraging.

"The number of fatalities in the industry was reduced from 72, 10 years ago, to 24 last year, despite higher levels of activities," said Mr Gan.

- CNA/yt