PETALING JAYA: The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM) said it is deeply concerned by the recent collapse of scaffolding falsework of a Piercap Structure of the LRT 3 Project that is under construction.
The incident which occurred on Thursday involved 5 workers with one fatality.
"IEM extends our condolence to the family of the worker who lost his life, and we pray for the speedy recovery of the workers who were injured.
"It was a great relief that there was no report of any members of public or adjacent road users injured in the incident.
"The number of mishaps occurring recently has raised public safety concerns and doubts on the due diligence being carried out to prevent such incidents," said IEM President Ir. Ong Ching Loon.
He said the alarming trend of such dangerous occurrence related to the national mega projects involving construction or engineering work must be addressed immediately.
Ong said with relevant Acts, laws, regulations, standards, and various national guidelines governing construction activities in place, such accidents should not have happened if all parties involved had complied with the requirements.
Some of the requirements among others instituted to prevent temporary structure collapse are listed below:
- Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (OSHA);
- Factories and Machinery Act 1967 (FMA);
- Construction Industry Development Board Act 1994;
- The Factories and Machinery (Building Operations and Works of Engineering Construction) (Safety) or BOWECS Regulations;
- BEM Guideline No.001 – "The Role and Responsibility of Professional Engineers for Temporary Works during Construction Stage";
- Construction Industry Standard (CIS) "CIS25: 2018 Construction Activities Risk Assessment – Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control (CARA-HIRARC)" ;
- CIS 15:2019 Guideline on prevention of fall at construction site;
- Guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health in Construction Industry (Management) or OSHCIM Guidelines; and,
- Guidelines for Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control (HIRARC), 2008.
Ong said the project owner must ensure that there were qualified engineers, competent safety personnel, adequate number of supervisors, and trained workers appointed to plan, manage, monitor, supervise, and execute the construction work activities including the practicality of its temporary work design based on actual site condition.
He said a thorough investigation must be conducted, and the root cause of the accident must be identified to ensure no structural instability to prevent structural collapse.
"The inquiry to be conducted on the accident must involve a third-party board of inquiry comprising related experts in the construction industry.
"The construction stakeholders including the Project Owner, Contractor and Consultant must be transparent and should fully cooperate with the board of inquiry. All recent accidents must be reviewed to ensure proper mitigation plan has been taken".
Ong said IEM urges all parties including those involved with the accident rescue activity to take precautionary measures at the site as insecure structures are still hanging at the site to prevent further injury.
"Safety is the responsibility of all, and the search and rescue work should be left to the relevant authorities such as the Fire and Rescue Department.
"The Institution will offer our technical assistance and opinion in the investigation. The IEM is recognised locally and internationally as the learned society and professional body representing a wide cross sections of engineering practice, many of its members are learned and experienced practitioners in their own field of expertise who will be able to offer their expert opinions".