All construction companies in the country will be required to appoint Site Safety Supervisors (SSS) effective Jan 1 next
year to ensure workers safety at construction sites.
Occupational Safety and Health Department Director-General Ir Johari Basri said the requirement would be made compulsory due to the high rate of fatal accidents at construction sites, which was 66 cases last year.
He said that between January and May this year, there had been 17 cases of fatal accidents.
“For companies with projects worth RM20 million and above, they have to have a full-time SSS, as well as a Safety and Health Officer (SHO).
“They are required to check on the safety of the machinery or the construction site and only after they are found safe can the workers be allowed to continue their work at the site,” he told reporters at the closing of a briefing and dialogue on Safety and health here yesterday.
He said companies which failed to abide by the regulation could be fined RM1,000.
The Occupational Safety and Health Department has registered 9,136 construction sites nationwide and 448 of them are in Kedah.
– Bernama