Fatal falls from height declined to a 10-year low in 2024

18 Mar 2025 Press Releases

Fatal falls from height declined to a 10-year low in 2024; WSH Council enters into partnership with SUTD and SUSS to further strengthen fall prevention

Falls from height have consistently been the second leading cause of workplace deaths over the past decade, until 2024. Last year, the four fall from height fatalities marked a 10-year low, resulting in falls from height being ranked fifth, after fatality causes such as vehicular incidents and drowning/suffocation. 

2 Injuries sustained from falls from height are typically more severe than most other types of accidents, and generally of greater consequence. Over the years, the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council has been increasing collaboration with the industry to drive significant improvements in work at height (WAH) safety and safeguard the lives of our workers.

3 The WSH Council has taken a step further to assist the industry in improving WAH safety. The WSH Council has signed Memoranda of Understanding with two Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) to build capabilities and co-create solutions to safeguard our workers who work at height.

Partnership with Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)
4 The partnership with SUTD is aimed at driving innovation in WSH, particularly in work-at-height safety. It will see the following outcomes:

  • Research, testing and implementation of robotic safety solutions within the industry, to enable students to assess the real-world performance of their innovations, collect valuable data, and refine designs, thus bridging the gap between research and application.
  • Knowledge sharing and public engagement to highlight the importance of WAH safety.

Partnership with Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS)
5 The partnership with SUSS is aimed at driving behavioural and cultural advancements in WSH, particularly in WAH safety. It will see the following outcomes:

  • Research and co-create innovative solutions for influencing behavioural shifts in high-risk work environments. This may involve developing new safety tools or frameworks to address human elements in safety.
  • Co-develop training programmes focused on improving safety behaviours for supervisors, managers and workers in environments involving WAH.
  • Knowledge sharing and public engagement to highlight the role human factors play in WAH.

6 Strengthening WSH requires industry commitment, collaboration, and building up capabilities through training and technological innovation is key. The WSH Council urges all companies to take ownership of WSH and leverage technology to safeguard our workers.