Fewer vehicular-related workplace fatalities in first half of 2018; falls top cause of major injuries
File photo of a construction site in Singapore. (Photo: AFP/Roslan Rahman)
SINGAPORE: There were fewer fatalities in the workplace related to vehicular incidents in the first half of the year, but falls remain a top cause for major injuries, according to official figures released on Monday (Aug 20).
Vehicle-related fatalities - the top cause of workplace fatalities annually since 2013 - fell to four in the first half of 2018, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Institute said in a press release.
In both the first half and second half of last year, seven fatalities were recorded from vehicle-related incidents.
Falls remain a concern however, causing seven fatalities in the first half of this year. More than half of these fatalities occurred in construction, said MOM and WSH Institute.
There were eight fatalities from falls in the second half of last year and four in the first half of 2017.
Falls were also the top cause of major injuries in the first half of 2018, with 142 cases.
This was an increase from the 128 cases in the second half of 2017 and 112 cases in the first half of last year.
Machinery-related incidents remained stable with 36 cases in the first half of this year, MOM and WSH Institute said.
There were 20 workplace fatalities in the first half of 2018, which is slightly higher than the 19 cases in the same period last year.
Most of these cases - 8 fatalities - were in the construction sector, followed by the manufacturing sector.
Compared with the first and second halves of last year, including non-fatal cases, there were fewer workplace injuries, dangerous occurrences and occupational diseases in the first half of 2018.
