Harian Metro, 3 October 2012

KUALA LUMPUR: Semua majikan di negara ini perlu tahu bahawa setiap RM1 yang dibelanjakan untuk memberi pendedahan terhadap pencegahan kemalangan kepada seorang pekerja dapat memberi pulangan sebanyak RM1.90 kepada syarikat.

Menteri Sumber Manusia, Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam berkata, syarikat akan menanggung kerugian lebih besar dari segi kos untuk melahirkan sumber modal insan terlatih sekiranya pekerja mereka terbabit dalam nahas jalan raya berbanding hanya RM1 diperlukan untuk kempen pencegahan kemalangan.

Menurut beliau, perkara itu dibuktikan melalui kajian dilakukan Pertubuhan Keselamatan Sosial (Perkeso) dan dan Institut Keselamatan Antarabangsa.

"Oleh itu saya berharap majikan boleh ambil kira perkara ini dan jangan melihatnya sebagai jalan pintas (mudah) kerana jalan pintas akan memberi pulangan jangka masa singkat tetapi memberi masalah berterusan," katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian pada sidang media selepas merasmikan Seminar Pencegahan Kemalangan di Pusat Dagangan Dunia Putra (PWTC) di sini, semalam.

Hadir sama Pengerusi Lembaga Perkeso, Datuk Abu Huraira Abu Yazid, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutifnya, Datuk K Selvarajah, Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Pencegahan Bencana dan Pekerja Perkeso, Datuk Dr Vasan Sinnadurai, Pengarah Eksekutif Institut Keselamatan dan Kesihatan Pekerjaan Negara, Rosli Hussin dan Pengurus Besar Majlis Keselamatan Jalan Raya Jerman, Dr Christian Kellner.

Mengulas lanjut Subramaniam berkata, majikan di negara ini hari ini, bagaimanapun sudah menjalankan tanggungjawab dengan baik terhadap pekerjanya.

"Salah satu tandanya terdapat penurunan 37 peratus pada kes kemalangan di tempat kerja jika dibanding 10 tahun lalu walaupun jumlah pekerja dan majikan semakin meningkat.

"Pada tahun 2000, kes kemalangan industri sebanyak 95,006 tetapi berkurang 59,897 pada tahun lalu," katanya.

Tambah beliau bagaimanapun, peratusan kemalangan dalam perjalanan ke tempat kerja terus meningkat ke tahap yang membimbangkan.

"Daripada 59,897 kemalangan direkodkan tahun lalu, 41.4 peratus daripadanya kemalangan dalam perjalanan ke tempat kerja," katanya.

The Star , 18 October 2012

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) wishes to compliment the Star Publications for having initiated and launched a two-day Safety and Health Campaign to promote a safe and healthy working environment for the company.

The fact that both the employer and employees had organised theMenara Star Safety Campaignspoke volumes of their commitment to safety at work.

Such a campaign should be held annually to remind all employees that they must never take their safety for granted.

Awareness of employees concerning safety and fire drills is important and participation in such drills will help to give a sense of urgency to the people involved over a matter of life or death.

Organising safety and fire drills for all buildings especially the high-rise ones should be done annually or once in two years to prepare for an emergency.

I seldom see such safety drills in our high-rise buildings.

Drilling safety into Malaysians must be a way of life and be made a core value and a culture.

Malaysians who have a lackadaisical attitude towards safety must not only have an attitudinal change but must inculcate an appreciation towards safety.

Establishing a safe and healthy work environment requires fundamental changes in the ways work is designed and personnel are deployed, and how the very culture of the organisation understands and acts on safety.

These changes require leadership capable of transforming not just a physical environment, but also the beliefs and practices of those who create the risk and those who work with the risk.

Although Malaysia’s industrial accident rate has been halved over the past 10 years it remains a challenge.

Managing occupational safety and health towards business competitiveness is of utmost importance and employers must see training as an investment and not an expense.

Management or employers must recognise OSH of employees as an integral part of business management.

TAN SRI LEE LAM THYE
Chairman, NIOSH

Publication: NST
Date of publication: Jan 13, 2012
Section heading: Main Section
Page number: 028

KOTA KINABALU: Courses for workers in the oil and gas industry are among the key agenda for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Sabah this year.

The institute is targeting at least 4,000 participants for a variety of courses in its schedule this year and this includes those related to agriculture, tourism and manufacturing where the oil and gas sector comes in.

With new oil field discoveries, major on going projects by national petroleum company Petronas and strategic investments by the state, a boom is expected from this year and the demand for manpower will follow for the industry.

NIOSH chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye yesterday said the state budget of RM4 billion this year indicated things will not slow down in the state especially since the bulk of it will be spent on basic infrastructure development and public amenities.

"For this, NIOSH has taken the initiative to organise more occupational safety and health courses to complement the projected growth in the state especially in the agricultural, tourism and manufacturing sectors."

Earlier Lee witnessed the handing over of duties to the new Sabah and Labuan NIOSH manager Mohd Hussin Abd Salam from Azhar Ahmad who was transferred to its headquarters in Bangi, Selangor.

Monday February 6, 2012 MYT 5:01:00 PM, The Star Online

KUALA LUMPUR: The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has urged relevant agencies and authorities to beef up safety at beaches throughout the country in view of the growing number of deaths by drowning each year.

Its chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said management strategies should be drawn up and implemented effectively to prevent such tragedies.

"We need a strategy for safe beaches, free from drowning. It is not about stopping people from having fun, or preventing them from being in, on, under and around water. We want them to be safe while doing so," he said in a statement here, on Monday.

He said beach safety has not been addressed properly and public safety at the beach tended to be a forgotten issue while considerable attention is given to the protection of environment and other matters.

He said according to the Fire and Rescue Department the number of drownings recorded in 2010 was 331 and in 2011, 303 cases.

He said there are many factors which cause drowning such as unrestricted and ready access to beaches, lack of knowledge and understanding of water conditions, ignorance, disregard or misjudgment of dangerous water conditions and lack of awareness on water safety.

"It is the responsibility of organisations, agencies, and authorities with jurisdiction over beach areas to identify and preferably minimise the risks of injury or death by drowning.

"This responsibility is not sufficiently met by installing signs or providing safety equipment," he said.

Apart from education on safe practices during water activities, Lee said people should also advocate for proper supervision of beaches and other water attractions and support legislation that requires the use of personal floatation devises to be worn in the water. - Bernama

Wednesday February 8, 2012, The Star Online

THE number of drowning cases in the country is worrying. According to the Fire and Rescue Department, 303 cases were recorded in 2011 and 331 in 2010. In Pahang alone, 28 people drowned from 2008 until last January. The number of cases in other states is also alarming.

Beaches can and often provide a range of opportunities for community health and wellbeing. The beach offers social, environmental and physical health and fitness opportunities.

However, the beach also has hazards that can present a risk to the ill-informed, uneducated or those who may choose to ignore, disregard or who misjudge a situation.

The issues surrounding community/public safety have become of greater importance. However, the specifics of beach safety have not been addressed properly and public safety at the beach tend to be the forgotten issue while considerable attention is given to environment protection and others.

We need a strategy for safe beaches, free from drowning. It is not about stopping people from having fun or preventing them from being in, on, under and around water. We want them to be safe while doing so.

There are many factors which cause drowning, such as unrestricted and ready access to beaches, lack of knowledge and understanding of the water conditions, ignorance, disregard or misjudgment of hazardous water conditions, absence of constant visual supervision and, particularly, lack of awareness and education in water safety, personal survival and life-saving.

Beach safety and risk management strategies are crucial to ensure the reduction of death by drowning. The implementation of an effective risk management programme can reduce the incidence of death at our beaches.

It is the responsibility of those organisations, agencies and authorities with jurisdiction over beaches to identify, and preferably minimise, the risks of injury or death by drowning.

This responsibility is not sufficiently satisfied by installing signs or providing safety equipment.

We should advocate proper supervision of beaches and other water attractions, support legislation that requires the use of personal flotation devices to be worn at beaches and educate parents on the need for close supervision of children at beaches.

The time has come for all relevant agencies and authorities to beef up safety along all beaches throughout the country.

Apart from that, education on safe practices during water activities and making safe decisions about water-related activities and to appropriately manage water-related hazards are among the prevention strategies we can adopt.

TAN SRI LEE LAM THYE,

Chairman,

National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.

New Straits Times, 2 November 2012

PETALING JAYA: Bayer CropScience has teamed up with Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority (Fama), Nestle Malaysia and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh) for a food-chain partnership project.

The long-term partnership project is aimed at improving the yield and quality of fruits, vegetables and rice in Malaysia.

Bayer Co (M) Sdn Bhd managing director Herbert Dittmar said the collaboration can build relationships that will benefit everyone.

He said the goal is to work with its partners along the entire value chain from seed to shelf to support sustainable production of high-quality fruits, vegetables and rice in the country.

"We are delighted to enter into this collaboration with Fama, Nestle and Niosh on the first-ever food-chain partnership in Malaysia," he said after a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony between Bayer and the three parties here yesterday.

The initiative is a proactive approach to create demand for sustainable crop solutions, facilitating mutually beneficial business relationships and a proven concept with more than 240 projects in more than 30 countries.

With Fama, Bayer will work closely with its contract farmers and durian exporting growers, while for Nestle, Bayer will promote a sustainable integrated crop solution for its chilli growers and, in near future, for rice.

For Niosh, Bayer will continue its efforts to train growers and Niosh staff on the safe use of pesticides.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference here yesterday, Dittmar said Bayer Malaysia will invest RM200,000 a year in the food-chain partnership.

Meanwhile, Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Deputy Minister Datuk Chia Tee Yong said such partnership is important to ensure safe and sustainable food production for consumers.

Bayer CropScience is a global player with core compentencies in healthcare, agriculture and high-tech materials.

New Straits Times, 4 September 2012

PETALING JAYA: Action will be taken against those responsible if negligence contributed to a shipping disaster in Labuan in July that resulted in five deaths, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said yesterday.

"Once we know what happened, action will be taken," he said at the Conference for Occupational Safety and Health in a shopping mall here

The Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) had attributed the explosion and fire on board a methanol tanker to lightning.

DOSH deputy director-general (operations) Mohtar Musri, who was at the conference, said during the unloading of methanol from MISC ship Bunga Alpina to the Petronas methanol terminal on July 26, it was raining and there was lightning.

"When there is loading and unloading, there is bound to be vapour from the chemicals, and the vapour was what was struck by lightning, causing the explosion. The earthing mechanism was also not working that day."

On another matter, Dr Subramaniam urged employers to invest in occupational safety and health, saying it was an essential investment that would help increase their productivity and profitability. Bernama

Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam and National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye launching the Conference for Occupational Safety and Health in Petaling Jaya yesterday.