Taking Routine Work for Granted
Taking Routine Work for Granted
When conducting risk assessments, we naturally focus on the main work activities—the ones with the highest hazards and risk levels. We spend considerable effort identifying controls for these risks because we know the consequences can be severe.
But what about the work activities surrounding them?
How often do we scrutinise routine tasks such as parking a vehicle, loading materials, rigging a load, or carrying out maintenance work? Because these activities are familiar and performed every day, they are often seen as low risk. Yet familiarity can sometimes lead to complacency.
The workplace fatalities in June 2026 serve as a stark reminder.
In a single month, five workplace accidents resulted in seven fatalities:
6 June – A delivery rider collided with the rear of a stationary broken-down lorry. (1 fatality)
12 June – Three crew members drowned after their workboat sank following a collision with a landing craft. (3 fatalities)
19 June – A driver was trapped between two vehicles while trying to stop his truck from rolling down a slope. (1 fatality)
20 June – A rigger was struck by an excavator arm while preparing reinforcement bars for lifting. (1 fatality)
21 June – A worker carrying out maintenance beneath a concrete mixer was crushed when the discharge gate suddenly closed. (1 fatality)
Looking at these incidents, a common theme emerges. These were not unusual or highly specialised activities. They were routine tasks that many workers perform every day.
The consequences, however, were anything but routine.
In response, the Ministry of Manpower announced stricter enforcement measures, including a nationwide voluntary Safety Time-Out, increased composition fines, an increase in the minimum Stop-Work Order duration from five to eight weeks, and a three-month debarment from hiring new migrant workers for companies found with lapses resulting in fatal or serious accidents.
For SMEs, such enforcement actions can be highly detrimental to business operations.
The lesson is clear: routine work deserves the same attention as our main work activities. A task does not become safe simply because it is familiar.
Sometimes, the greatest risks are hidden in the work we do every day.
