Mishaps spur rail safety manual

The Engineering Institute of Thailand under His Majesty the King’s Patronage (EIT) and the Thailand Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Tosh) are rushing to publish a rail construction safety manual.

The aim is to curb accidents on mass transit system construction sites following a spate of mishaps over the past few months.

EIT president Thanes Weerasiri said his institute and Tosh are looking to publish the manual as soon as possible.

“We don’t want to see any more accidents. The manual will give workers a practical guide on how to avoid accidents on construction sites,” he said.

Recent serious accidents on mass transit construction sites have included a deadly crane collapse in front of Don Muang School in April which killed three workers building the Bang Sue-Rangsit Red Line.

“In the aftermath of such accidents, it is necessary to boost the confidence of the public who have been using routes in Bangkok and its outskirts where this construction work is taking place,” said Tosh director Chaithana Chaimongkol.

“We need to raise safety awareness at work,” he told a seminar at the Centra by Centara Hotel in Chaeng Wattana yesterday on electric train system safety standards.

Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) assistant governor Vithaya Punmongkol said: “We want to see maximum safety. We have to instill awareness and ensure contractors comply with the internationally-accepted safety standards.”

Construction work on mass transit projects are often carried out in public areas. It is necessary to work with caution, he added.

“Most of the accidents resulted from human error. Even though some were considered minor accidents, we cannot compromise safety standards,” Mr Vithaya said.

Mr Thanes said people involved in the accidents should learn from their experience. When an accident happens, it is necessary to suspend work to solve the problem. Workers should also immediately report an incident to supervisors or engineers so the problem can be rectified.

Rattapoohm Parichatprecha, director of the Excellent Centre for Road and Railway Innovation at Naresuan University, said Thailand needs a large number of engineers and technicians to oversee construction of 10 mass transit system projects.

“The question is whether we have enough people with specialised knowledge. We also need people with skills and experience,” he said.