Over 46 Workers lost Hands or Fingers and 11 Fatalities due to Unsafe Machinery Incidents

Accidents happen.

These sometimes happen spontaneously when we least expect them.

This is why it’s important to take steps to ensure that workplaces be as safe as possible to minimise such incidents.

Though, in Singapore last year, the number of serious cases involving machinery are staggering.

Over 46 Workers lost Hands or Fingers and 11 Fatalities due to Unsafe Machinery Incidents

On 25 March, Thursday, Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad launched this year’s Safe Hands Campaign.

It aims to raise awareness of machinery safety and practices to avoid hand and finger injuries.

The Straits Times reported that Mr Zaqy also talked about the number of machinery-related injuries in the last two years.

Coming from 2019, which saw 2,262 injuries, 2020 saw way less at 1,756 injuries.

However, it’s not much a cause to celebrate as, among them, 46 workers lost their hands or fingers in amputation accidents.

And only last month, 11 people died across nine different workplace accidents.

Mr Zaqy noted that for the manufacturing sector, machinery incidents account for around one-third of injuries in the sector.

“These tragic accidents provide a stark reminder that if not used properly, machines can lead to needless loss of lives, not just the loss of hands or fingers.”

In total, 2020 saw about 30 workplace fatalities.

Taking Workplace Safety Seriously

Mr Zaqy had previously called these cases an extremely alarming trend and asked employers to be active in managing workplace safety.

These include the installation of machine guards or light curtains.

The former prevents operators from having their hands and fingers caught between moving parts

Meanwhile, light curtains are sensors that can detect if an operator’s fingers get too close to a machine’s moving parts.

However, a company’s management has to ensure these guards won’t be removed for the sake of convenience.

Mr Zaqy said such responsibilities should not fall to the workers. Companies also need to be receptive to feedback and act fast in the case of lapses.

Personal Health of Workers

When talking about workplace health, he also cited mental health as a huge point.

He noted how a stressful work environment may affect productivity and lead to potential accidents

Tools like iWorkHealth could be used to help identify sources of work stress, and refer those who need to seek help to appropriate resources.

Mr Zaqy then talked about how workers with chronic diseases, if not managed well, can lead to a lack of rest.

“Limited energy levels coupled with constant pain make even the simplest tasks draining and tiresome. A worker could even lose consciousness while at work, and this has dire consequences when they are operating machinery.”

We can only hope that 2021 sees less, or idealistically none, of these workplace accidents.

Featured Image: AhXiong/ Shutterstock.com