Aloysius Pang's death: COI proposes SAF safety enhancements
SINGAPORE — In the wake of CFC (NS) Aloysius Pang's death, the Committee of Inquiry has proposed several recommendations to prevent similar incidents, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen told Parliament on Monday (6 May).
The COI recommended enhancing safety culture by ensuring all servicemen take personal ownership of safety. Among other things, it suggested a more comprehensive risk assessment for high risk activities, and for all near misses to be reported and archived.
The military should also review all standard operating procedures and emergency drills to ensure proper procedures for mixed-crew operations.
There is also a need to ensure that standard operating procedures are complied with. A safety checklist briefing should also be conducted before any maintenance works.
And medical officers should be trained for aero-medical evacuation and acute trauma care.
Meanwhile, a separate external review panel on SAF safety also expressed concern about safety lapses and made recommendations for forging a stronger safety culture within the military.
Commanders need to inculcate stronger safety ownership at both team and individual levels. And the same high level of emphasis that is accorded to training safety should be accorded to maintenance safety.
Separately, the SAF Inspector-General's Office, set up three months ago, has also identified areas for the SAF to make improvements, Dr Ng said.
These areas are: command emphasis on safety, safety as a mission outcome and team safety culture.
"The SAF has to ensure there is internalisation of safety as a mission outcome across all levels of command. All commanders must adopt a zero accident mindset and set it in the heart of their unit safety culture," said Dr Ng.
Commanders must also build a strong culture of team safety where soldiers take responsibility for their own safety and look out for their buddies and keep each other safe, he added.
Think-Check-Do
A Think-Check-Do drill will be implemented as a routine part of pre-maintenance task checks, Dr Ng said. As part of the drill, technicians will plan and brief all personnel of their roles and tasks, and a dry run will also be conducted.
Positions of emergency stop buttons will be re-emphasised and emergency procedures will be rehearsed as part of drills.
Safe and hazardous areas will be further emphasised through bold markings.
Safety advocates will also be appointed in units.
And all soldiers will have to take a safety awareness test annually. Currently, only commanders and trainers take the test.
National servicemen will also be actively involved in safety reviews and medical officers will also go for refresher training on heli-evacuation processes before overseas deployments.
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