WSH – FM Perspective

Ho Thim Seng
Past President, IFMA (Singapore Chapter)
Chairman, Asia Institute of Intelligent Building (Singapore Chapter)
Director, Office of Estate & Facilities Management,
Temasek Polytechnic - Singapore
 Traditional role of Facility Manager

To ensure that everything is available and operating

properly for building occupants to do their work.
(Thus, Facility Manager has profound influences on
the quality of life within the facility and on corporate
outcomes)
 Facilities Management (IFMA)

A profession that encompasses multi disciplines to

ensure functionality of the built environment by
integrating people, place and process.
 Scope of Facilities Management
Strategic Management (Vision & Leadership)

People Change
Corporate Strategy
Management Management

People Process

FM
Support Real
Services Place
Service
Estate Asset
Management
Management

Information Management (Systems & Procedures) © Then, 2000

 Place
Physically support the business
process
(Where people and technology
come together to interpret,
process and act upon
information)

Symbolic to the world. (It unites

the Organization in space and
time)

i.e. it is about the effective

deployment & utilization of a safe
environment which brings value
to the business.
 Strategic Context
To harness both logistical and
symbolical power of place and put
it to work to complement
competitive strategy.

Facilities help to nurture the

corporate culture by supporting
certain behaviour (safe work
culture) and sending the Right
Signal.

i.e. it is about deliverables that

affect business process
 Approach

To integrate people, work process and

workplace into a coherent, productive and
holistic system that aligns with the corporate
business strategies.
Crisis Management -3Rs Approach
Risk Management

• Carry out risk assessment to anticipate all possible risks

and take reasonable and practicable measures to mitigate
the risks

Response Management

• Respond to emergencies (fire, medical, etc) based on

standing SOP from Emergency Preparedness Committee
(EPC)

Recovery Management

• Post incident recovery to restore affected premises back

to operational condition
Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)

A program that set the framework and methodology

for organization to manage its risks. i.e. it provides
tools to clarify risk appetite and risk profile and to
evaluate risks across organization.
A comprehensive approach to identify many
dependencies or interrelationships among risks that
might otherwise go unnoticed.
Workplace Safety

Failure in preventing accidents or incidents due to

non-compliance of legislative requirements on
Workplace Safety & Health (WSH) exposes to
liability.

Impact Rating: 8
Vulnerability Rating: 6
Threat 1:
Workplace

Facilities and Building Infrastructure or Sub-Systems

failure could cause death or serious injuries to the
community, e.g. Structural Damage in buildings / Fire
alarm system failure in detecting fire outbreak
Mitigating Measures

• Building facilities are designed and built in

meeting stringent authority guidelines and
statutory codes of practices.
• Periodic Statutory Structural Inspections are
carried out once every 5 years for all buildings.
• Periodic maintenances of all building and sub-
systems are carried out.
Threat 2:
Safety in Processes

a) Activities conduct in spaces such as workshops,

laboratories, kitchens and studios if not carried
out under proper supervision or non-compliance
of SOP can cause serious injuries or death

b) Events if planned or supervised without given due

consideration on safety could cause serious
injuries or death
Mitigating Measures
• Organization is to carry out risk assessments for all
activities and events.
• Mandatory briefing, training or tests are to be
conducted before any workshop, laboratory and kitchen
activity.
• Organization must carry out regular inspections on
equipment and supervise activities.
• Organization appoints first-aiders to respond to
incidents.
• WSH Committee is to meet regularly to review WSH
measures.
Threat 3:
Health through the Environment

Hazardous waste (biological or chemical) if not

disposed off in accordance with approved guidelines
may cause serious environmental pollution.
Mitigating Measures

• Designated spaces are to be allocated to hold

hazardous wastes.
• Approved waste disposal contractors are to be
engaged to remove hazardous waste.
• SOPs must be in place to help staff in handling
hazardous waste.
Workplace Safety & Health (WSH)
Why is it important?

• The effects of accidents are permanent, irreversible and

sometime fatal.

• Effective workplace safety and health will enhance company

performance ;
i.e. enhance staff morale,
few sudden shock and unwelcome surprise,
less downtime thus, improve productivity,
reduce waste and more efficient use of resources,
increase positive work attitude and likelihood of change
initiatives and etc.
 WSH FM

Workplace Workplace
Safety Process
Health People
Relationship between WSH and FM
Overview of WSH

Workplace
- Design For Safety

Safety Health
- Individual
- Maintain a clean
Behaviour towards
Environment
safety
- Work activities
- Conduct activities
should not caused
in a Safe Manner
pollution, radiation &
- Safety
contamination to the
Consciousness
environment
towards others
Impact of WSH on FM Practice
What
does this
1. Regulations means?
Prescriptive
Performance Base
Legislative

2. FM activities if not carried out properly and safely disrupt

day to day operation and may cause injuries or death.

3. Building infrastructure if not designed for safety posed risk

to occupants and publics.

4. Work process if not carried out safely will affect one’s life
(How we work is how we live).
FM WSH

ERM
Conclusion

WSH is an on-going process that requires continuous

effort and mindset change.

Build a Safety Culture at workplace as way of life.

Thank You