Keynote Address by Mr Christopher Koh at SMAG Complex
06 Jun 2024 Speeches
KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY MR CHRISTOPHER KOH,
GENERAL MANAGER, WORKPLACE SAFETY & HEALTH COUNCIL,
AT SINGAPORE MMA & ACRYLIC GROUP (SMAG) COMPLEX,
5 JUNE 2024
Senior management of the Singapore MMA & Acrylic Group complex companies,
Management and representatives of contractor companies,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
1. Good morning.
2. Thank you for inviting the Workplace Safety & Health Council to join the launch of the Singapore MMA and Acrylic Group (SMAG) Health, Safety and Environment Campaign 2024.
3. I applaud SMAG for your close partnership with and success in mobilising companies within the complex towards WSH excellence.
Shared ownership for WSH
4. The theme for SMAG’s HSE campaign is very appropriate. “Mutual Check for Heightened Awareness” reflects how it is so important for everyone to mutually check to take care of each other, and to preserve the workplace’s safety & health.
5. Everyone has a role in keeping the workplace safe, from senior management, to supervisors, to every single worker on site.
6. And it is not just SMAG employees, but also everyone among the contractors’ companies working at the SMAG complex.
7. Careful planning, close coordination, clear communications and mutual checks among everyone are vital to execute the maintenance and plant operations safely every day.
Leadership commitment for WSH
8. Everyone has a role, but some roles have to be done well first, for everyone else to play their part. I’m referring to the role played by senior management. Some say that “Safety starts at the top, or it doesn’t start at all”.
9. So I’m happy to learn that SMAG’s senior management has been prioritising WSH. I applaud the many good practices here, such as:
a. Management safety walks around the complex;
b. Management chairing the HSE committee meetings that also involve in-house contractor management and HSE personnel;
c. Preventing heat stress;
d. Having an internal safety reporting system; and
e. Embedding safety in appointing contractors.
10. I’d like to highlight in particular the last 3 practices of preventing heat stress, internal reporting, and embedding safety in appointing contractors. These are very timely and reflect a culture of WSH excellence.
Preventing heat stress
11. First, on managing heat stress for those doing outdoor work. This is something we can feel more and more, and will become even more of a hazard with climate change. It is good that SMAG companies have been monitoring the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) reading hourly, from 10am to 4pm, with announcements for water breaks made if WBGT equals or exceeds 32 degrees celcius.
12. I understand that SMAG offers heat stress management training to all employees and contractors so that they understand the risk, and to recognise heat stress symptoms. In doing these, SMAG has heeded the recommended heat stress measures and guidelines by the Ministry of Manpower and WSH Council.
Internal reporting
13. Second, I’d like to emphasise the value of having a strong internal reporting culture.
a. It makes everyone a safety champion.
b. It accelerates learning & risk identification.
c. It fosters mutual trust between employers and employees in preventing incidents.
14. I’m very heartened that SMAG companies have acknowledged staff for reporting unsafe situations by presenting them with tokens of appreciation. Safety reporting has indeed immersed itself in SMAG’s WSH culture - in 2021, the number of near miss reports had increased 10-fold as compared to 2020. And this number continues to increase about 5% every year.
15. If taken not as fault-finding, but in the spirit of helping each other learn, the more near misses are reported and addressed, the more likely we prevent an injury from happening.
16. It is very encouraging that as part of SMAG’s HSE campaign, it has taken internal reporting to another level – not just by employees, but at the company level – to have more cross-checks within each company by different teams, with reports sent to SMAG HSE for review. This should elevate incident prevention to a higher standard. Well done SMAG!
WSH stewardship amongst companies and contractors
17. Third, is SMAG embedding safety into its contracting relationships. This reflects how good safety is good for business, and will align all partners working in the complex to high safety standards.
18. For example, Sumitomo Chemical Asia and Toagosei require that contractors have a minimum of bizSAFE 3 certification or equivalent, and have put weightage on contractors’ past WSH performance for tender evaluation. Contractors found to be unsafe will either be mentored so that their WSH performance can be improved, or on the other end of the spectrum, be disqualified if necessary. These are very good practices we hope many more companies, across more industries, will emulate.
Conclusion
19. What SMAG companies and your contractors have done is commendable. Nonetheless, the challenge is always in sustaining good WSH practices and performance. If the culture of mutual checks and mutual commitment is internalised, I am confident that SMAG companies will continue to attain good safety and health outcomes. Thank you.