Two companies fined for deaths of prime mover drivers

1. Cummins Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd and Woodlands Transport Service Pte Ltd were fined $80,000 and $130,000 respectively for failure to take adequate safety measures under the WSH Act that led to the death of a prime mover driver in each company.
2. Cummins Asia Pacific Pte Ltd was charged under Section 11(b) for failure to ensure that the premise allows prime movers to manoeuvre safely and the proper implementation of a Workplace Traffic Management Plan. Woodlands Transport Service Pte Ltd was charged under Section 12(1) for failure to take corrective actions in repairing a fault on the prime mover despite it being raised by the deceased driver on numerous occasions and allowing the deceased to continue with deliveries on the vehicle. It was revealed that the company did not agree on the price of the replacement parts and decided to source for the parts on their own. However, the company failed to follow up on the matter and the fault on the prime mover was not repaired.
3. Mr Chan Yew Kwong, MOM’s Director of Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate, “These accidents could have been prevented if companies do not compromise the safety of their workers. In one case, the company failed to rectify the ineffective handbrake of its prime mover despite numerous reportings by the driver, and put him at risk by permitting him to continue driving it. The company has to take full responsibility for risks they put workers in when they knowingly disregard the need to maintain their vehicles in safe operating condition. There is no business cost that can account for a life lost and MOM will make sure companies understand this fully.”
   
   Case Summaries
   
   Cummins Asia Pacific Pte Ltd
   
   
4. On 25 March 2015, Yu Hairui, (the Deceased) was driving his prime mover with a loaded 40ft container on its trailer, up the ramp between levels 4 and 5 of CWT Logistics Hub 3, 52 Tanjong Penjuru Road, Singapore 609034. Yu was manoeuvring a U-turn on the ramp when the 40ft container dislodged from the trailer and toppled onto the cabin of the prime mover. (Refer to Annex A) Yu died from injuries sustained in the accident on the same day.
5. Investigations revealed that:
   a. At the material period, the driveway at level 4 of the premises was congested and PM drivers faced difficulties manoeuvring their the prime movers and trailers; and,
   b. At least one of the four twist locks fastening the container to the trailer on Yu’s prime mover was also not locked.
   
   Woodlands Transport Service Pte Ltd
   
   
6. On 9 October 2015, Yeoh Lim Koon (the Deceased) parked his prime mover with a 24 ton trailer load, at the designated parking area at Telok Blangah St 31, Singapore. Yeoh dismounted from his vehicle and was trying to disconnect the air hoses that were connected to the prime mover and its trailer, when the prime mover began to roll forward.
7. In his attempt to open the cabin door, Yeoh lost his grip and fell into a perimeter drain. The tail-end of the trailer caught Yeoh and dragged him out of the perimeter drain. The prime mover halted after mounting the kerb of the public road outside the worksite. (Refer to Annex B). Yeoh was found underneath the rear of the trailer and died from his injuries on the same day.
8. Investigations revealed that:
   a. The bracket used to stabilised the air tanks in the prime mover was loose, causing a cut in one of the air tank due to the air tank hitting a metal plate during bumpy rides;
   b. The handbrake of the prime mover was not very effective, possibly due to compressed air leaking from the air tank, which Yeoh had raised on numerous occasions to Woodlands Transport Service Pte Ltd; and,
   c. The prime mover parked at a gradient and the trailer was holding a heavy load.