1.

0 INTRODUCTION

Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 1994 was enacted on 25th February 1994
after being gazetted on the parliament. OSHA 1994 was enacted due to inadequacy of Factory &
Machinery Act (FMA) 1967 on factors pertaining to its scope in which limited to machinery sector
and dependency on government for regulatory process. To be more precise, FMA 1967 only
covers occupational safety and health in the manufacturing, mining, quarrying and construction
industries where if converted into figure only cover 23 % of industry in Malaysia. Introduction of
OSH 1994 cover all workers in all economy related activities, excluding those working on board
ships that administered by Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 and armed forces. The main
objective of Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 1994 are as listed below ;

a) To secure the safety and health of persons at work

b) To protect persons at a place of work other than employees
c) To promote an appropriate and suitable environment for persons at work
d) To enable previous legislative to be replaced by regulations and approved industry
codes of practice operating in combination with the OSH Act 1994.

According to the statistic provided on DOSH Malaysia official website until November 2018,
there are approximately 389 numbers of accidents recorded by Department of Occupational
Safety and Health Malaysia (DOSH) in all sector. From the figure stated most of the cases
involves accidents on construction industry. Moreover, almost half of the cases involves fatality,
placing construction industry on top of the charts in accidents involving fatality. Even with the
presence of OSHA 1994, the number of accidents reported each year shows no signs of
decreasing. Hence, continuous studies on how to improve safety at workplace have to be done.
Thus, the risk of occurrence of accidents at workplace can be reduced. The OSHA 1994 has been
amended few times due to some improvements made to ensure it covers all area of sector
regarding safety at workplace.
This study is conducted to investigate an accident that occurred on 5th of March 2016 at a
construction site in Johor where the victim (construction worker) fell from the 6th floor while
carrying out the work of binding the cable at the edge of the floor of the building. The respective
worker died immediately due to serious injury on limb obtained from the accidents. Purpose of

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this case study is to show procedure on reporting accidents at work place, the necessary
investigation as well as preventive actions to avoid future accidents from occurring.

Figure 1.0.1 : Department of Occupational Safety and Health

Figure 1.0.2 : Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 1994

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2.0 PART A - ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION

As the safety officer assigned to investigate an accident happened on a construction site,

there are several action and standard operation procedures that have to be done quickly
whenever an accident happened. One of the procedure is to ensure proper information is being
collected, so that the purpose of the investigation which to help reduce or prevent any future
incidents from happening is satisfied. Safety officer has to find the root cause of the accident and
analyse the details of the event. Information obtained from the investigation is really useful to
prevent the accident from re-occurring. The investigation process should begin after attending
first aid or medical treatment towards the injured person(s). Steps of the investigation process are
as the followings ;

1. Secure the area where the accidents happens and preserve the area.
2. Gather all the evidences and informations needed
3. Gather witness and perform interviews
4. Determine the root cause
5. Prepare the incident report and notify to Department of Safety and Health (DOSH)

2.1 Secure and Preserve The Scene

Part III of Occupational Safety And Health (Notification Of Accident, Dangerous Occurrence,
Occupational Poisoning And Occupational Disease) Regulations 2004 later written as NADOPOD
states that there should be no interference at accident or dangerous occurrence scene stated
where the accident or dangerous occurrence causes the death of any person or serious bodily
injury to any person or serious damage and dangerous to plant or other property, no person shall,
unless authorized to do so, remove or in any way interfere with or disturb any plant, substance,
article or thing related to the incident except to the extent necessary to ;

(a) save the life of, prevent injury to, or relieve the suffering of any person;

(b) maintain the access of the general public to an essential service or utility; or

(c) prevent further damage to or serious loss of property or environment.

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 Therefore, the safety officer in charge should mark the scene with something clear such as
yellow tape or barricade the scene with cone. The safety officer then have to inform all personnel
not to remove any thing from the accident scene and prevent unauthorised personnel to cross the
restricted area.

Figure 2.1.1 : No trespassing tape sign

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 2.2 Gathering Evidences and Informations.

After the victim has been treated or send to the hospital and ensure the condition of the victim
stable, the Safety Officer must immediately investigate and record all the detail about the
incident.
Before investigation starts, all running work are put to stop to give way for investigation and
to preserve the scene where the accident occured. All the object involve and the place of
falling are recorded either in video or picture form. The information gathered can be used
during investigation session.

General Information
Case Title : Died falling from height (6th floor)
Location : Construction site in Johor
Date : 5th of March 2016
Case Summary : Victim fell from the 6th floor while carrying out the work of binding the
cable at the edge of the floor of the building.
Case Classification : Fatality
Contributing Factor : Serious injury to limb
Preliminary Observation : Insufficient safety equipment

2.3 Gather Witnesses and Perform Interviews

I. Observing Construction Site Logbook.

Date Name Position Time In Time Out

05/03/2016 Rafiq Worker 7.30 am

From the logbook it can be seen that the victim is a registered and authorised worker
at the construction site that attend to the site to work.

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 II. Perform Interview.

2 other workers are being interview in order to gather information, the first interviewee
are the worker that work on the same shift with the victim.

Interviewee’s name: Abdul Karem Date:

5th of March 2016
Time: 2.00pm

Relation: Victim’s Collegue

1. When was victim go inside the construction site? At
7.30 am.

2. Does the victim shows any sign of sickness?

No. The victim is in healthy condition.

3. Did the victim wear PPE?

Yes, he wore required PPE: safety helmet, safety boot, glove and safety jacket.

4. What was the weather?

Sunny weather, 34 C.

5. What happened to the victim?

The victim slipped while binding cable at the edge of the building.

Table 2.3.1 : Interview script with victim’s colleague.

From the interview session, it can be seen that the victim abide rule by wearing
PPE inside the construction site. The victim is also in good condition and shows no
sign of sickness.

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 The second interview have been conducted with the safety officer on duty.

Interviewee’s name: Asyraf Zikree

Date: 29 February 2016
Time: 3.45pm

Relation: Site Supervisor

1. What happen on that day?
The victim was working at the construction site as usual.

2. Did you perform daily meeting with all workers before they start working?
Yes , each worker will be given daily briefing before they start working.

3. Did the victim wear PPE?

Yes, he wore required PPE: safety helmet, safety boot, glove and safety jacket.

4. Did the victim receive training about construction site hazard?

Yes, each worker has been given training before they can work on site.

5. Did the written instructions, procedures and risk assessments have been placed
at the worksite?
Yes, there is written instructions, procedures and risk assessments there.

6. What are the victim doing at level 6 before the incident?

He was carrying out the work of binding the cable at the
edge of the floor.
.
7. Does the edge of the floor have any safety equipment needed?
No ,the edge of the floor was not covered due to insufficient equipment.

8. Where are you during the accident and how did the victim fall from the level 6?
I was supervising other workers on the site during the accident.

Table 2.3.2 : Interview script with site supervisor.

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 From the interview session with the site supervisor on duty, it can be seen that the
victim is working as usual and wear complete PPE. He also have been given briefing
before the work start. The construction site also have safety signs as reminder for the
worker to practice safe working ethics. However, the working condition at the victim
area does not comply with OSHA 1994, where the open edge is not covered. The
victim accidentaly slipped and fall from 6th floor, resulting serious injury to limb. The
victim died on the way to the hospital.

2.3 Determine The Root Cause

According to the information and evidence gathered during investigation, the root cause
of the incident can be determined. The victim wore complete PPE such as safety helmet,
safety boot, gloves and safety jacket during the accident. He also does not have any health
issue that may cause the accident. The victim has been provided with sufficient training related
to OSHA 1994. Therefore, it can be conclude that the cause of the accident does not come
from the victim.
Further investigation of the accident shows that the cause of the accident came from the
working environment itself and due to lack of safety measure taken by the site authority. Based
on the evidence obtained from the scene, it can be seen that the condition of the 6 th floor of
the building is not in proper maintenance. All of the machine used were left in improper
condition. There are many tangling wires on the floor that can contribute to more injury.
Furthermore, observation at the accident scene shows that the open edge working area
does not covered with any safety measures such as barrier or safety net, that can help to
prevent workers from falling.

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Figure 2.3.1 : Tangling wires on the floor

Figure 2.3.2 : Open edge working area.

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2.5 Prepare Incident Report and Notify Department of Occupational Safety and Health

After all the data were obtained and the root cause has been determined, safety officer
should prepare a report regarding the accident and submit to DOSH Malaysia. The report
should include all the findings from the incident scene, the interviews and the data. The report
should show the timeline of the incident and the cause of the incident whether it is direct or
indirect. It is crucial to include all the details of the incident including photos and diagrams so
that the person that review the report can know every details of the incident.

When an accident happens in workplace, it is required under Occupational Safety And

Health (Notification Of Accident, Dangerous Occurrence, Occupational Poisoning And
Occupational Disease) Regulations 2004 later written as NADOPOD for the safety officer in-
charged to report the accident to DOSH but first the safety office must identify who was injured
in this case it was one of the employee. This case involved fatality. Both this factor then
require the safety officer to first notify nearest DOSH state office immediately, therefore the
nearest DOSH state office is at Menara TJB, Tingkat 9,Jabatan Keselamatan dan Kesihatan
Pekerjaan Johor, Jalan Dato' Mohd Mufti, Taman Dato Onn, 80534 Johor Bahru, Johor. Next,
step is the written report need to be send using form JKKP 6 within seven working days. For
the last all the collected data about the employee and accident need to be fill in the form
JKKP 8 & JKKP 9 then submit the letter to DOSH and the record must be kept at the
workplace for 5 years. Form JKKP 6, JKKP 8 and JKKP 9 are shown in the appendix.

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3.0 PART B - PREVENTIVE ACTION

Preventive actions are measures taken to ensure the risk of accidents either can be reduce
or eliminate. So that, the same accidents will not happen again in the future. If the accident
involved fatality, preventive actions have to be implement immediately. Preventive actions can be
classified into hazard control. There are a total number of 5 types of control which are elimination,
substitution, engineering control, administrative control and personal protective equipment (PPE).
The effectiveness of the controls method increase going up the chart as shown below.

Figure 3.0: Hierarchy of controls

For instance, this type of case is better to be approach using administrative control,
engineering control and the personal protective equipment as the preventive actions to effectively
reduce the occurrence of accident.

3.1 Engineering Control

Engineering controls are methods that are built into the design of a plant, equipment or process
to minimize the hazard. Engineering controls are a very reliable way to control worker exposures
as long as the controls are designed, used and maintained properly.

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3.1.1 Perimeter Protection

One of the engineering controls that needed to be implement to prevent the same type of
accident (falling from height at construction site) is the perimeter protection. Based on
Guidelines for the Prevention of falls by DOSH under section 4.2 that state that perimeter
protection shall be provided on the wide-open edges of all work areas from which a fall of
more than 2 metres is possible. Guardrails, including midrails and toeboards, are the
preferred option. However, in some situations other systems may be appropriate:

• The height to the top of the guardrail shall be between 0.9 and 1.1 metres.

• The guardrail shall be before or vertically over the edge of the platform except:

• It must be capable of sustaining, without failure or undue deflection, a force at any point
of .69kN (70kg) vertically and .44kN (45kg) horizontally.

Figure 3.1.1 : Example of perimeter protection with fall restraint system

3.1.2 Safety Nets

A safety net is a net used to protect people from injury after falling from heights by limiting
the distance they fall, and deflecting to dissipate the impact energy. The term also refers to
devices for arresting falling or flying objects for the safety of people beyond or below the net.
Safety nets are used in construction, building maintenance, entertainment, or other
industries. The safety nets used must comply with BS 3913:1 982 Industrial safety nets or
any acceptable Industrial Standard and shall be of a type tested and approved by a testing
body approved by the Director General. Safety nets shall be rigged by a trained personal who

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can demonstrate specialized training in this field. Safety nets suspended under work areas
may be a satisfactory means of protection in the event of a fall, while also allowing the
maximum flexibility Nets must be inspected daily for signs of wear or damage and rejected if
any is found. Nets must be protected from combustible materials, chemicals, welding slag or
any damage. The net also effective to protect workers from falling objects.

Figure 3.1.2 : Example of safety net installed at open section

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3.2 Administrative Control

Administrative controls (or work practice controls) are changes in work procedures such
as written safety policies, rules, supervision, schedules, and training with the goal of reducing the
duration, frequency, and severity of exposure to hazardous chemicals or situations. Administrative
control is more effective compared to PPE. This is due to the method involves some method of
earlier planning and avoidance while PPE only aids only as a final barrier between the hazard
and worker. Administrative control requires workers and employers to dynamically think or comply
with regulations and they do not offer everlasting solutions to problems makes the method is in
second last position in term of effectiveness. In general, cost involved to apply this method is
more economical in early stage but might become more expensive over time as higher failure
rates and the need for constant training or re-certification eclipse the initial investments of the
three more desirable hazard controls in the hierarchy.

In the summary of this case, administrative control can be taken by providing sufficient
and complete training to the workers. Besides that, there should be a specific procedure of work
or standard operation procedure (SOP), starting from preliminary of the work until after the
particular work finish. Observation made on the scene of the accident shows that the equipment
is not properly maintain after being used by the workers. Tangling wires and cables can be seen
being left on the floor. This situation can led to more hazard and accidents to happen. Thus,
having complete and proper SOP can reduce the risk of accidents on site.

3.3 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is equipment worn by any employee that is being
expose to any type of hazard and risk to manifestation of accident. PPE is used to minimize
exposure of hazards that can contribute to serious workplace injuries and illnesses. Either Injuries
or illnesses might happen due to contact with chemical, radiological, physical, electrical,
mechanical, or other workplace hazards. There many type of PPE that have been applied in the
industry according to type of hazard that may expose to the employee. Basic personal protective
equipment may include items such as gloves, safety glasses and shoes, earplugs or muffs, hard
hats, respirators, or coveralls, vests and full body suits. All personal protective equipment should
be design accordingly to the specifications required and should be maintained in a clean and
reliable manner. PPE should fit comfortably to the wearer. The objective of PPE will not be
achieved if it is not worn properly. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is considered as the last
resort to protect workers from hazard during working. According to OSHA regulations, employer

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should provide sufficient and adequate PPE to worker. Employer also should ensure their worker
wear and use PPE while on duty. or do not provide sufficient protection, employers must provide
personal protective equipment to their workers and ensure its proper use. Employers are also
required to train each worker required to use personal protective equipment and not to charge
PPE on employee (section 26).

Based on investigation and analysis made, the type of PPE that suitable to prevent
accident of this case is harness and lanyards.

3.3.1 Body Belts, Harness and Lanyards

Each worker that face risk for falling three (3) meters or more at workplace should wear
the appropriate fall protection equipment such as body belts, harness and lanyards. Body belts,
harness and lanyards with the combination of static line could stop the worker from free falling to
the ground. The harness is an attachment between a stationary and non-stationary object and is
usually fabricated from rope, cable or webbing and locking hardware. Some safety harnesses are
used in combination with a shock absorber, which is used to regulate deceleration when the end
of the rope is reached.

Figure 3.3.1 : Example of harness and lanyard usage

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4.0 PART C – ETHICAL PRIINCIPLES AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

Professional ethics is a term that encompasses the organizational and personal standards
of behaviour a professional individual is expected to possess. Most organizations have their own
internal code of practice that defines the professional ethics of a certain profession. This
behaviour tends to be good for business and involves demonstrating respect for key moral
principles that include honesty, fairness, equality, dignity, diversity and individual rights.

For this case of study, the incident happened costs the worker to suffer serious injury on
his limb that led to his death. Investigation made shows that it occurs because of the working
environment of the working site containing many hazards. The victim fell to death from 6th floor of
the building after tripping that is cause by tangling wires and cables found on the floor. The
situation rises due to lacks of ethical working practice stated by OSHA 1994. Besides, there is
also insufficient safety equipment such as safety nets and harness to be used for the worker. The
victim did not put any safety harness on him while working on the edge of the floor. All of the
aforementioned act are example of unethical behaviour.

We can conclude that people that work at construction industry are exposed to most
hazard such as mechanical, physical, electrical, and many more. Safety are the most important
things to taken care during works. As a suggestion to this non-ethical issues, safety officer play
big roles to make sure safety in workplaces by double check that worker provided with proper
personal protective equipment (PPE) and always encourage them to practice OSH.

5.0 REFERENCE

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1. Occupational Safety And Health Act 1994 (Act 514) retrieved from
http://www.dosh.gov.my/index.php/en/legislation/acts/23-02-occupational-safety-and-health-act-
1994-act-514/file

2. Occupational Safety and Health (Notification of Accident, Dangerous Occurrence,

Occupational Poisoning and Occupational Disease) Regulations 2004 retrieved from
http://www.dosh.gov.my/index.php/en/legislation/regulations-1/osha-1994-act-154/521-02-
occupational-safety-and-health-notification-of-accident-dangerous-occurrence-occupational-
poisoning-and-occupational-disease-regulations-2004/file

1. Guidelines of Occupational Safety and Health in Construction Industry (Management)

retrieved from
http://www.dosh.gov.my/index.php/en/legislation/guidelines/building-construction-engineering-
work/2498-booklet-guidelines-of-occupational-safety-and-health-in-construction-industry/file

2. Guidelines for the Prevention of Falls at Workplaces, 2007 retrieved from

http://www.dosh.gov.my/index.php/en/legislation/guidelines/building-construction-engineering-
work/670-02-guidelines-for-the-prevention-of-falls-at-workplaces-2007/file

3. Guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health (Notification of Accident, Dangerous

Occurance, Occupational Poisoning & Occupational Disease) Regulations 2004 (NADOPOD),
2005 retrieved from
http://www.dosh.gov.my/index.php/en/legislation/guidelines/general/599-06-guidelines-on-
occupational-safety-and-health-notification-of-accident-dangerous-occurance-occupational-
poisoning-occupational-disease-regulations-2004-nadopod-2005/file

4. Guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems (OSHMS), 2011

retrieved from
http://www.dosh.gov.my/index.php/en/legislation/guidelines/general/597-04-guidelines-on-
occupational-safety-and-health-management-systems-oshms/file

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5. How To Conduct An Incident Investigation retrieved from
http://www.nsc.org/JSEWorkplaceDocuments/how-To-conduct-an-incident-investigation.pdf

6. Occupational Accidents Statistics by Sector Until October 2017 retrieved from

http://www.dosh.gov.my/index.php/en/occupational-accident-statistics/by-sector

9. 80 per cent of accidents at Malaysian construction sites go unreported: NIOSH. New Straits
Times publications (2017, May 16) retrieved from
https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2017/05/239755/80-cent-accidents-malaysian-

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6.0 APPENDICES

Figure 7.0.1 : JKKP 6 form

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Figure 7.0.2 : JKKP 8 form

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Figure 7.0.3 : JKKP 9 form

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