Cost worries prevent some manufacturers from boosting safety

But innovations help NatSteel reduce injuries, improve productivity

- Christine Tan

While Singapore's workplace death and major injury rate fell to a record low in 2023, and major industries saw fewer injuries, the manufacturing sector was still a problem.

Although fatalities in the sector dropped from seven in 2022 to five in 2023, the number of major injury cases jumped from 122 to 150, according to the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) annual workplace safety and health numbers released on March 27.

The sector was flagged by MOM for having the highest combined fatal and major injury rates, surpassing the construction and transportation and storage sectors.

Ms Tan Man Ee, chairwoman of the Workplace Safety and Health.

(WSH) Council's manufacturing committee, told The Straits Times on April 5 that some companies are afraid to embrace safety as they are concerned about cost.

Ms Tan, who is also chief operating officer and a director at metalworking company NatSteel, said: "Many of them think that investing in safety is a cost. But they fail to see that if they provide a safe work environment for their employees, the employees will feel more at ease and productivity will improve." Calling them short-sighted, Ms Tan added: "All you need is for one incident to happen... whatever savings you have will all be wiped out, because there's time lost (and) you have to stop your processes." The WSH Council, a statutory body under MOM, works with industries to improve workplace safety and health.