If you’re in oil, petrochemical and chemical industry, you need to ensure that your shift personnel are fit and continue to stay fit for work, so that operation can be carried out safely.
As oil, petrochemical and chemical industries have 24/7 process and terminal operations with potential safety implication, you are required to ensure the personnel maintain required level of fitness to carry out their duties effectively and safely.
The principles of implementing fitness for work (FFW) include:
- FFW risk assessment
- Identification of FFW assessments
- Consultation and legal review
- Implementation
- Periodic review
FFW risk assessment
List the process and terminal operations roles that have shift work:
- Identify the tasks that have specific physical and mental demands.
- Identify the tasks that have direct safety implications if operator is incapacitated.
- Identify additional factors that add to the risk.
- Evaluate whether system redesign or process-related controls can reduce the risk.
- Evaluate whether fitness for work controls can further reduce the risk and that they can be reasonably applied.
Identification of FFW assessments
Develop list health specialists which include occupational physicians, ergonomists and safety professionals who can advise on appropriate fitness assessment and frequency of administration.
Types of fitness assessments can include:
- Functional capacity evaluation
- Trade testing
- Medical examinations
Selection of fitness assessments and health specialists should be done in consultation with unions.
Consultation and legal review
Staff and union should be consulted on the fitness assessment selected. This allows employees’ concerns to be addressed, and ensure that the approach taken is fair and transparent to employees.
Legal review should be conducted to be in line with Singapore’s legal requirement, including relevant employment and medical regulation.
Implementation
Fitness for work assessment should be applied to all employees.
Periodic review
The frequency and content of assessment on the type of work tasks and inherent health risk. You should work with health specialist to determine the suitable frequency for fitness assessment.
Find out more about the FFW Tripartite Guide for process and terminal operations shift personnel in the oil, petrochemical and chemical industries.