• About Us
    • Fact Checking Policy
    • Ownership & funding information
    • Volunteer
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
    • Submissions Policy
  • Contact Us
The Online Citizen Asia
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
The Online Citizen Asia
No Result
View All Result

Safety First, Murphy's Laws & SMRT's safety protocols

by onlinecitizen
30/03/2016
in Opinion
Reading Time: 5 mins read
0

By Law Kim Hwee
My Malay friends have shown me how resilient they are. When an unexpected death occurs, family members and friends will close rank, grief deeply but not showily – and then move on with life. As Muslims, they believe anything that can happen is Allah’s will.
Still, may I extend my deep condolences to the families and friends of Muhammad Asyraf Ahmad Buhari and Mr Nasrulhudin Najumudin. It always saddens me when lives are needlessly lost, especially young ones.
Sometime back, I noticed that SMRT began to use a lot of our Malay compatriots in their ‘We’re Working On It’ PR posters.
SMRT-staff-ad-posters
In fact, in all 3 posters showing maintenance in action, all 3 ‘poster-boys’ were Malay. I was really pleased to see that. To me, it was a sign that my fellow Malay citizens are taking another step up the ladder of skilled, instead of staying in mostly unskilled, jobs.
The other thought (cynical one) that I had was; well, when it came to bonus payouts, the maintenance staff were not forefront in the minds of SMRT honchos. Instead, they got the misery crumbs off the tables of Desmond Kuek, his top managers – and, no doubt – also Temasek managers
I hope the tragedy will spur the many other MRT maintenance crew to pull together and demand, without exception, that their safety – and not customer satisfaction – must come first and foremost.
Safety First 
My sales and marketing background always strive to live by the adage, ‘the customer is always right’. My first job at a local outfit, safety was never discussed with sales. My 2nd job at a Swedish subsidy had no direct visual contact with the factory. It was only in my 3rd job at a German manufacturer based locally that “Safety First” made a lasting impression on me. It is not ‘Cost’, not ‘Quality’, not ‘Design’, not anything else but “Safety First”.
Based on CEO (ex-SAF general) Desmond Kuek’s assertion that  “it was ‘standard’ procedure and routine for people to be on the track to investigate a fault when trains are running, but with permission sought”, it appears that keeping trains running trumps “Safety First” when lives of the rank and file are on the line. Perhaps, the CEO’s own KPI cannot afford to have another train stoppage due to yet another fault during operating hours.
Dear Mr Kuek, “SAFETY” is always FIRST. Nothing else comes close. Not your or your management team’s KPIs. Get that into your head before more lives are lost.
Murphy’s Laws vs SMRT’s safety protocols

The first law is, “If anything can go wrong, it will.”
Never mind your protocols.
Murphy’s second law reads, “If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the FIRST to go wrong.”
Never mind your protocols.
What can be more damaging than a life lost? Well, how about 2 lives, young lives?
A little down Murphy’s list is this one, “If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.”
Never mind your protocols.
As I like to say, “Don’t think it won’t happen just because it hasn’t happened yet!”
Protocols without common sense
From what has been revealed thus far, some commonsensical questions come a’begging’.
All 15 maintenance staff were walking in single-file, along the side of the train tracks, on the walkway.
Why the need for 15 staff ‘to investigate an alarm for signalling equipment’? 15 people to look at a faulty alarm which, if faulty, needs 15 sets of hands to rectify? We assume it’s an electronic alarm, built with modular parts, no need for 15 to fix.
Walking in single-file is an accepted norm for moving along a narrow path. Or, during military training, in low visibility. But the risk lies in one tripping either forward or backward, the reflexive action is to pull the other nearest to you or reach out to catch the one falling (except for the first and last person). That was most likely what happened to result in two, not just one, being hit by the train.
The 15 were walking along a 0.5m wide walkway…The train in the incident was just pulling into the station, travelling at about 60km per hour.
Doors and residential stairways are normally 1.0m wide, basically wide enough for 2 persons to pass one another. So, 0.5m appears sufficient to walk in single-file. But have you ever tried walking along wider-than-0.5 m paths, about an arms-length away from the line of and facing oncoming cars heading towards you at 60kph?
How do you think it feels like to walk with 14 others along a 0.5m narrow path that is just also about an arms-length from the side of – not cars, but – long train carriages and hurling towards you at 60kph? Will you be reflexively affected by the metal-against-metal screeches, the windy force and the tremors under your feet?
Conclusion
Desmond Kuek’s million $ job is safe. He has only to quote his boss’ boss, “This was a lapse, what to do, it’s happened.”.
And move on.
To all the SMRT maintenance staff, do not count on your bosses or their political bosses setting things right for you. The SMRT “We are working on it” posters should already tell you something. You were not there when it came to bonus time. But you conveniently served the purpose to appeal to your fellow citizens’ empathy with your tough maintenance work when it suited them to hide their neglect or incompetence behind your weathered faces and dirtied overalls.
Mr Law also blogs at 2econdsight.wordpress.com

For just US$7.50 a month, sign up as a subscriber on The Online Citizen Asia (and enjoy ads-free experience on our site) to support our mission to transform TOC into an alternative mainstream press.

Related Posts

Anwar criticised over appointing own daughter as his senior advisor
Malaysia

Anwar criticised over appointing own daughter as his senior advisor

03/02/2023
Level of unemployment in Indonesia shows failure in the Job Creation Law, says KSPI
Indonesia

Level of unemployment in Indonesia shows failure in the Job Creation Law, says KSPI

02/02/2023
Commentaries

The Keppel bribery scandal tests Singapore’s zero-tolerance policy towards corruption

02/02/2023
Singapore Law Watch removes commentary on CPIB’s decision to not prosecute former Keppel executives
Singapore

Singapore Law Watch removes commentary on CPIB’s decision to not prosecute former Keppel executives

02/02/2023
US businesses ‘fear internet curbs in Hong Kong’
AFP

Hong Kong offers free flights after COVID isolation

02/02/2023
Why is Gautam Adani’s Indian empire in turmoil?
AFP

Why is Gautam Adani’s Indian empire in turmoil?

02/02/2023
Subscribe
Connect withD
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect withD
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Latest posts

Anwar criticised over appointing own daughter as his senior advisor

Anwar criticised over appointing own daughter as his senior advisor

03/02/2023
Level of unemployment in Indonesia shows failure in the Job Creation Law, says KSPI

Level of unemployment in Indonesia shows failure in the Job Creation Law, says KSPI

02/02/2023

The Keppel bribery scandal tests Singapore’s zero-tolerance policy towards corruption

02/02/2023
Singapore Law Watch removes commentary on CPIB’s decision to not prosecute former Keppel executives

Singapore Law Watch removes commentary on CPIB’s decision to not prosecute former Keppel executives

02/02/2023
US businesses ‘fear internet curbs in Hong Kong’

Hong Kong offers free flights after COVID isolation

02/02/2023
Why is Gautam Adani’s Indian empire in turmoil?

Why is Gautam Adani’s Indian empire in turmoil?

02/02/2023
India’s Adani shares plunge again after stock sale cancelled

India’s Adani empire loses more than US$100 bn after fraud claims

02/02/2023
Former political prisoners calls for abolishment of ISA and apology from PAP Govt on 60th anniversary of Operation Coldstore

Former political prisoners calls for abolishment of ISA and apology from PAP Govt on 60th anniversary of Operation Coldstore

02/02/2023

Trending posts

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

by Yee Loon
30/01/2023
25

...

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

by Yee Loon
26/01/2023
24

...

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

by Augustine Low
01/02/2023
33

...

Two Indian nationals paid about S$330 and S$730 respectively for forged certificates submitted in their S-Pass application

MOM found issuing EPs meant for foreign PMETs to PRC waitress and general worker

by Correspondent
26/01/2023
41

...

Singapore warns slower economic growth in 2023

Less than 1 in 10 jobs created in first three quarters of 2022 went to Singaporeans?

by Leong Szehian
28/01/2023
69

...

Excessively charging for an essential need, and calling it affordable because people still can pay for it?

by Terry Xu
31/01/2023
39

...

March 2016
M T W T F S S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  
« Feb   Apr »

The Online Citizen is a regional online publication based in Taiwan and formerly Singapore’s longest-running independent online media platform.

Navigation

  • Editorial
  • Commentaries
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Community

Support

  • Contact Us
  • Letter submission
  • Membership subscription

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Fact Checking Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Civil Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
  • Politics
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Subscribers login

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

wpDiscuz