Driving A Positive Safety Culture in Public Transport

Safety at work is always a top priority in Singapore and the country has strived to lower workplace fatality rate over the years, through policies and initiatives such as the Workplace Safety and Health Act and the Vision Zero Movement.? In 2018, Singapore launched WSH 2028, setting the goal to reduce workplace fatal injury rate from a three-year average of 1.4 per 100,000 workers, to below one for every 100,000 workers within the next 10?years. ?

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and public transport operators, including Go-Ahead Singapore, fully support Singapore’s efforts to make workplaces safer and healthier. Through the years, many initiatives have been implemented to protect the safety and health of public transport workers as well as to inculcate a safety culture. The recent initiative of introducing Safety Champions, which is a tripartite effort by the LTA, National Transport Workers’ Union, and public transport operators, is one such example. This initiative empowers frontline public transport workers to proactively surface ideas and contribute towards workplace improvement, building a better and safer workplace for themselves and their colleagues.?

Go-Ahead Singapore’s safety champions are mentor and union representative, Chief Bus Captain Ng Hee Kwang and third-time consecutive winner of our Driver of the Year award (2018 to 2020), Senior Bus Captain Mohd Nizam Bin Haron. Both bus captains are selected based on their overall good performance and are strong believers of the importance of safety. They are proud to be selected and look forward to advocating safety to their peers. As safety champions, they will also gather feedback from their colleagues on workplace improvements and operational safety, as well as act as an informal channel for them to voice concerns on safety matters. Their advocacy and mentoring role will further complement the existing efforts undertaken by the company.

To instil a safety conscious culture in our employees, we have introduced various initiatives. These include investing in training and technology as well as instituting safety protocols, policies, and procedures. We also raise safety awareness among employees and commuters through roadshows, collaterals, and campaigns. A ‘safety first’ culture and continuous improvements to health and safety standards are key to achieving our target of zero workplace accidents and injuries. All employees are encouraged to adopt safe practices in the workplace, and to always ‘Think Safe Act Safe’, which is also our safety motto.?

Safety remains of paramount importance, and we will keep working together as a team to realise the vision that all workplace injuries are preventable.