Table of Contents

1.0

Introduction

2.0

The Importance of Safety and Health in the Construction Industry

3.0
4

Definition, The Legislation and Regulating Bodies in Malaysia

3.1

Definition

3.2
3.3

The Legislation in Malaysia

The Regulating Bodies in Malaysia

4.0

4
5

Statistical Datas of Construction Related Accidents

7
4.1

SOCSO on Reported Occupational Accidents

4.2

DOSH on Fatal and Non Fatal Occupational Accidents

4.3

CIDB Compiled Statistics

7
8
12
5.0
12

Causes of Construction Related Accidents

5.1 Causes of Construction Accidents from DOSH Reports
13

6.0

Conclusion and Recommendations

15
1

7.0

References

17

1.0 INTRODUCTION
construction industry makes up an important part of the Malaysian economy
and can be described as some kind of an economic engine for Malaysia, as we
move from a developing country status towards a developed and industrialized
nation as envisaged in Vision 2020. The construction sector employs
approximately 9% of the total workforce in Malaysia 1, which accounts to
approximately 1.15 million people out of the total 12,717,901 as of the World
Bank statistics for 2012.

Although this figure does not seem extravagant and

of which accounts for less than 5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the
industry is an essential growth enabler because of its extensive linkages with
the rest of the economy, for example, the manufacturing, professional services,
financial services, education and other industries. Therefore it's reach is far and
wide, and effects many more lives of people, either directly or indirectly.
This being the case, the construction industry has been identified as one of the
most hazardous industries in the world, as measured by work-related mortality,
workers compensation, injury and fatality rates, incurring more occupational
fatalities than any other sector in both the United States and in the European
Union. In 2009, the fatal occupational injury rate among construction workers
in the United States was nearly three times that for all workers. 3 As we can see,
1

Dependency of Foreign Workers in Malaysian Construction Industry, Mohd Arif Marhani, Universiti Teknologi
MARA

World Bank http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.TOTL.IN

Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupational_safety_and_health

even developed nations face an uphill task of managing health and safety in
their respective construction industries, it is then only fair to say that Malaysia
has its own share of problems to deal with.
Safety at work is a complex phenomenon and a subjective area of study. This is
because industrial safety has undergone significant changes over the past
decade. However, the construction sector is notable as it continues to register
a high rate of accident-related casualties. Construction workers who work
within the construction industry face a greater risk of fatality than workers in
other industries.
The title of this paper is therefore: The Management of Health and Safety
in the Malaysian Construction Industry, the scope of which shall cover the
importance of safety and health, the law and regulating bodies, statistical
datas of accidents, and the causes of these accidents and finally a conclusion
and recommendations on the subject matter.
2.0 THE IMPORTANCE OF SAFETY AND HEALTH IN THE CONSTRUCTION
INDUSTRY
As explained, construction is one of the most dangerous occupations in the
world, and therefore safety and health in the construction industry are critical
considerations on all construction projects. Todays owners face a variety of
risks when they undertake a construction project. Not only must owners be
concerned with potential risks to their employees, tenants, or property, but
they must also be concerned about the risks that the contractor bears. Safety
is a critical item on all construction projects for multiple reasons including
protecting the welfare of employees, providing a safe work environment and
controlling construction costs.

Additionally, health and safety is not only

important in construction sites to protect workers, but it is also important to

ensure that members of the public are not put at risk.

Why Construction Safety is Important, Jim Emmons,

http://www.vsl.net/article/tabid/157/contentid/87/default.aspx

Contrary to common perception, there is little up-front cost to the owner

for implementing and maintaining the safety programs required since the
contractor is already mandated by law to comply with local, state and federal
regulations. To take advantage of this safety benefit, all the owner has to do is
demand that the contractor document and implement the proper safety
programs that will protect employees working on the job site. Having a good
safety culture must be considered a Condition of Employment. A contractor
with a good safety culture not only requires safety but demands that all
employees Live it, Breath it., and that all the employees are actively working
to make safety an integral part of the job process.

As can be seen from many incidences, poorly implemented health and

safety techniques, design and management can result in accidents, illness and
even death. These mishaps in turn, will cause unwanted delay to the project,
cost overruns, prolongated operating expenditure, and perhaps even legal
lawsuits which can be very time consuming, complex and costly. Therefore, it is
only in the best interest for the employee to ensure for the safety, health
welfare of employees, providing a safe work environment and controlling
construction costs.

3.0 LEGISLATION FRAMEWORK AND INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE

3.1

Definition

To comprehend what constitutes safety and health in the workplace and

mechanisms in place to enforce them, one must first understand its definition
in an overall sense and accepted standard. Since 1950, the International
Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have
shared a common definition of occupational health. It was adopted by the Joint
ILO/WHO Committee on Occupational Health at its first session in 1950 and
revised at its twelfth session in 1995. The definition reads:

"The main focus in occupational health is on three different objectives: (i)

the maintenance and promotion of workers health and working capacity; (ii)
the improvement of working environment and work to become conducive to
safety and health and (iii) development of

work organizations and working

cultures in a direction which supports health and safety at

work

and

in

doing so also promotes a positive social climate and smooth operation and
may enhance productivity of the undertakings. The concept of working
culture is intended

in this context to mean a reflection of the essential

value systems adopted by the

undertaking concerned. Such a culture is

reflected in practice in the managerial systems,

personnel

policy,

principles for participation, training policies and quality management of

the

undertaking."
Joint

ILO/WHO

Committee

on

Occupational

Health5

3.2

Legislation And The Construction Regulation

Figure 1

In Malaysia, the first Health and Safety Act in Malaysia was introduced in 1967.
This as known as the Factories and Machinery Act (Occupational Safety and
Health Act, 1994). This was subsequently replaced in 1994 with the
Occupational Safety and Health Act which is currently used in the law (OSHA,
1994), which was gazetted on 25 February 1994 by the Malaysian Parliament.
These regulations are supported by Orders, Guidelines and Codes of Practices.

ILO Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety, http://www.ilo.org/iloenc/part-ii/occupational-healthservices/item/155-occupational-health-services-and-practice

The list of regulations under this Acts are6:1. Occupational Safety and Health (Employers' Safety and Health General
Policy Statements) (Exception) Regulations 1995
2. Occupational Safety and Health (Control of Industry Major Accident Hazards)
Regulations 1996
3. Occupational Safety and Health (Safety and Health Committee) Regulations

1996
4. Occupational Safety and Health (Classification, Packaging and Labelling of
Hazardous Chemicals) Regulations 1997
5. Occupational Safety and Health (CLASSIFICATION, LABELLING AND SAFETY
DATA SHEET OF HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS) REGULATIONS 2013
6. Occupational Safety and Health (Safety and Health Officer) Regulations
1997
7. Occupational Safety and Health (Safety and Health Officer) Order 1997
8. Occupational Safety and Health (Prohibition of Use of Substance) Order 1999
9. Occupational Safety and Health (Use and Standards of Exposure of
Chemicals Hazardous to Health) Regulations 2000

DOSH Malaysia, http://www.dosh.gov.my/

10. Occupational Safety and Health (Notification of Accident, Dangerous

Occurrence, Occupational Poisoning and Occupational Disease) Regulation
2004

3.3The Regulating Bodies And Institutional Structure

Under the Enforcement and Legislation area, the need for an increased
number of DOSH officers to be placed at a construction site was addressed.
This is to ensure, surveillance of the construction site is conducted by an
independent officer on an individual, team and company level. Prior to this
framework, available data on injuries and fatalities were considered unreliable
to be used as solid evidence or statistically due to misreporting and
underreporting.
Another organisation which collects data on health and safety in Malaysia
is SOCSO. However, only 68% of the workforce in Malaysia is represented in
this database. Furthermore, SOCSOs data is employed for tracking and
monitoring benefit claims and hence is not considered surveillance data. Also,
SOCSO only accounts for Malaysian citizens and does not include information
on foreign employees. Since foreign employees make up a large number of
labourers in the construction industry, the information collected by SOCSO is
not accurate in terms of reflecting the actual numbers of injuries and fatalities
in the construction sector. The data collected by SOCSO cannot be deemed
accurate as it does not represent the entire Malaysian work force. Selfemployed workers for example are not part of the SOCSO organisation and
therefore are unrepresented statistically. Furthermore, only claimable accidents
and injuries are recorded in the SOCSO database.

3.4 Five Year Framework (MPOSHCI,2005)

In Malaysia, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) under

Health and Safety in the Malaysian Construction Industry, Anushya Ramasegar, Auckland University of
Technology

the Ministry of Human Resource is responsible to ensure that the safety, health
and welfare of workers in both the public and private sector is upheld. DOSH is
responsible to enforce the Factories and Machinery Act 1967 and the
Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994.
In 2005, the Malaysian the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB)
collaborated with the DOSH to produce a five year framework (MPOSHCI, 2005)
to address occupational safety and health issues within the construction
industry. There are six key areas identified for this Master Plan, by the National
Occupational Safety and Health Committee in the construction industry
(MPOSHCI, 2005).
Key Areas Identified for the Master Plan:
1. Enforcement and Legislation
2. Education and Training
3. Promotions
4. Incentives
5. Standard Development
6. Research and Developments and Technology

4.0

STATISTICAL DATAS OF CONSTRUCTION RELATED ACCIDENTS

As explained in the previous section, it can be seen that the Malaysian

construction industry has no known systematic approach to collecting
surveillance data. Nonetheless this paper shall endeavor to obtain any relevant
statistics from DOSH, SOCSO and CIDB in regards to the construction industry.

4.1

SOCSO on Reported Occupational Accidents

Malaysia recorded a worrying increase in the numbers of accidents occurring at

the construction sites by SOCSO indicating the number of permanent
8

disabilities and fatalities from year 1996 to 2008. Although the construction
industry is not the highest contributing industry towards the accident statistics
in Malaysia, however, its figures showed a very high rate in the year 2000. With
such unpredictable figures reported, accidents in this industry have captured
the attention and concerns from both governmental and non-governmental
organizations.8
From the 2000 to 2008, the occupational accidents in Malaysia showed a

continuous decline. However, the statistics has remained stagnant since 2009.
By industrial sectors, manufacturing recorded the (31%) highest number of
accident, followed by public services and social security (18%), commercial
(17%), real-estate, rental and business (8%), construction (7%), transportation
(7%) and other sectors (12%) (SOCSO, 2010).
Figure 2

An Analysis of Accidents Statistics in Malaysian Construction Sector, Dayang Nailul Munna Abang
Abdullah, Faculty of Business Management Universiti Teknologi MARA

Figure 3
The unproportionately high occupation death in the transportation industry in
contrast of the construction industry is probably due to the latters better OSH
management and programmes with specific Building Operations and Work of
Engineering Construction (BOWEC) Regulation and authority such as CIDB as
compared to the fragmented authorities in the transportation industry. One of
the importance factors in implementing internal control to ensure that
companies comply with the OSH legislation is management's motivation, where
high consequences of severe accidents have played vital parts as they are
associated downtime and compensation costs.9

Safety Culture in Malaysian Workplace: An Analysis of Occupational Accidents, AUYONG Hui-Nee School
of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia

10

4.2

DOSH on Fatal and Non Fatal Occupational Accidents

From the statistics by DOSH (2013) on investigated fatal occupational accidents

classified according to sectors, the manufacturing sector stands as the second
highest sector after construction for the year 2007 and 2009 to 2012.

Table 1

According to Table 2, the rate of fatality in the construction sector has

reduced from 43% in 2007 to 37% in 2013. The high rate of was probably due
to the fact that, the employers of mainly foreign labour dominated construction
might not place enough attention to occupational safety and
health of their workers.

11

Table 2

It also seems that race/nationality are also important explanatory factors,

as the Malaysian construction sector is dominated by migrant workers and are
over represented in these accident statistics. Table 3 shows some selected
accident cases in Malaysia construction sector as at December 2011. It can be
seen that migrant workers from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan etc, are
mostly involved in the accidents.10

10

A STUDY OF FATAL AND NON-FATAL ACCIDENTS IN CONSTRUCTION SECTOR Yakubu Danasabe Mohammed,
Universiti Putra Malaysia

12

Table 3
Figure 3 below shows the 2014 statistics with 72 deaths and 94 Non Permanent
Disability (NPD) investigated cases. Whereas Figure 4 shows the distribution of
cases amongst states.

11

11

DOSH Malaysia, http://www.dosh.gov.my/index.php?

option=com_content&view=article&id=1225&Itemid=545&lang=en

13

Figure 4

Figure 5
4.3

CIDB Compiled Statistics

On the other hand, a construction employment statistic compiled by CIDB

revealed that construction workers constitute about 7.1% of total workforce in
Malaysia (2010). The industry generally accounts for 11% of all industrial
workers fatalities (2007). In year 2010, Occupational accident in the Malaysia
14

construction sector alone includes 66 death, 4 cases of permanent disability

and 50 cases of non-permanent disability (2011). Moreover, according to CBS
Interactive Business Network 2007, since 2001, the Malaysia construction
scene has consistently recorded fatality rate of over 25% per 100,000 workers,
(CIDB, 2007).12
5.0 KEY ISSUES IN HEALTH AND SAFETY
The statistics on accidents merely only describe the cases of accidents, but do
not mention the factors that lead to those accidents. According to Ridley 99%
of the accident are caused by either unsafe acts or unsafe conditions or both
(Ridley, 1986). As such, accidents could be prevented. The unsafe act is a
violation of an accepted safe procedure which could permit the occurrence of
an accident. The unsafe condition is a hazardous physical condition or
circumstances which could directly permit the occurrence of an accident. Most
accident results from a combination of contributing causes and one or more
unsafe acts and unsafe condition. In order to effect permanent improvement,
we must deal with the root causes of accident. 13 Through the statistics and
theories drawn down on accidents causation, all these supporting evidence
reflects on the needs to better investigate what are the factors that affect the
occurrence of accidents and its frequencies in the Malaysian industry.

14

Table 4 overleaf shows 128 accident cases from DOSH from year 2000 to
2004. The analysis shows that the causes of construction accidents on average
are mainly attributed to the management (29.2%) such as poor inspection
programs, poor safety policies and lack of safety education programs. Second
12

A STUDY OF FATAL AND NON-FATAL ACCIDENTS IN CONSTRUCTION SECTOR Yakubu Danasabe Mohammed,
Universiti Putra Malaysia

13

14

CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS AT CONSTRUCTION SITES, Abdul Rahim Abdul Hamid, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

An Analysis of Accidents Statistics in Malaysian Construction Sector, Dayang Nailul Munna Abang Abdullah, Faculty of Business Management
Universiti Teknologi MARA

15

major cause is due to the unsafe method (26.4%) mostly related to incorrect
work procedure. Human element come in third position (12.5%) as lack
personal protective equipment usage and workers negligence contribute to the
cause of accidents. Working in variable hazard and at high elevation has been
part of the unique nature of the construction industry (11.1%) which associates
this industry as more risky than others. Finally, factors such as unsafe
equipments (9.7%) and job site conditions (11.1%) especially poor site
management also have roles in contributing to the cause of accidents at
construction sites.

16

The overall results are not comprehensive as the reports are not geared

toward revealing all possible root causes as stipulated in the multiple causation
model.

Furthermore,

the

documented

reports

were

prepared

by

the

enforcement officer who would naturally focus on the management when it

comes to the aspect of accident prevention.15
Table 3

15

CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS AT CONSTRUCTION SITES, Abdul Rahim Abdul Hamid, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

17

6.0

Conclusion and Recommendations

From the literatures, we can conclude that the cause of accidents in the
construction industry is a multi faceted phenomenon mainly attributed to
workers negligence, failure of workers to obey work procedures, work at high
elevation, operating equipment without safety devices, poor site management,
harsh work operation, low knowledge and skill level of workers, failure to use
PPE and poor workers attitude about safety.
Therefore, it is evident that a focused dedication and effort toward safety
program is needed at construction sites. As such, to ensure that successful
safety programs are implemented on sites, the following recommendations
could be implemented:1- Management Commitment; this includes leadership, vision, and
direction, statement of objectives, commitment, supervision, safety analysis,
and prevention planning.
2- Safe work condition; this includes proper housekeeping, proper site
layout and space

availability.

3- Safe work habit; this includes awareness, good communication,

personal attitude, safety

culture, positive groups and personal competency.

In order words, a successful safety program is based on the commitment

and the participation of management and workers in policymaking and in the
establishing an adequate feedback system that will lead to continuous
improvement of the safety program. By reducing the number of accidents, the
construction industry does not have to be labeled as a 3D (Dirty, Dangerous,
and Demeaning) industry anymore.

18

7.0

REFERENCES

Dependency of Foreign Workers in Malaysian Construction Industry, Mohd Arif

Marhani, Universiti Teknologi MARA
World Bank http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.TOTL.IN
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupational_safety_and_health
Why Construction Safety is Important, Jim Emmons
http://www.vsl.net/article/tabid/157/contentid/87/default.aspx
ILO Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety,
http://www.ilo.org/iloenc/part-ii/occupational-health-services/item/155occupational-health-services-and-practice
DOSH Malaysia, http://www.dosh.gov.my/
Health and Safety in the Malaysian Construction Industry, Anushya Ramasegar,
Auckland University of Technology
An Analysis of Accidents Statistics in Malaysian Construction Sector, Dayang
Nailul Munna Abang Abdullah, Faculty of Business Management Universiti
Teknologi MARA
Safety Culture in Malaysian Workplace: An Analysis of Occupational Accidents,
AUYONG Hui-Nee School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia
A STUDY OF FATAL AND NON-FATAL ACCIDENTS IN CONSTRUCTION SECTOR,
Yakubu Danasabe Mohammed, Universiti Putra Malaysia
19

CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS AT CONSTRUCTION SITES, Abdul Rahim Abdul Hamid,

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

20