Star Online today reported that the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) only has 12 safety inspectors to carry out checks.
It noted that there were more than 600 construction sites in Klang Valley alone.
The report quoted DOSH Director-General Mohtar Musri as saying his department had about 80 workers in Kuala Lumpur — 20 administrative and 60 technical employees.
Twelve of the 60 are tasked with inspecting construction sites while the rest monitored factories and other types of workplaces.
Mohtar said some construction sites were so huge that it required several visits to complete the checks.
Tower cranes and mobile cranes are issued a Certificate of Fitness (CF), valid for 15 months.
DOSH inspectors also check the scaffolding and audit the safety housekeeping practices at the worksites, he said.
“We are conducting as many inspections, including spot checks.
“But no matter how much we are able to do, people will still say that it is not enough because of the increasing number of construction sites,” Mohtar said yesterday.
Star Online also contacted National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Chairman Lee Lam Thye who hoped the Public Service Department would provide more manpower to DOSH.
Safety at construction sites came under the spotlight after a woman was killed when a crane hook became detached and fell 20 storeys onto her car in Jalan Raja Chulan on Thursday.
Administrative executive Joice Chin Khoon Sing, 23, died instantly.
Star Online said in 2015, there were 140 deaths in the construction industry nationwide — a 57% increase compared with 2014.
Yesterday, it was reported that the police, DOSH and the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB) were investigating the crane accident.
Police are looking for the crane operator who disappeared after the incident.
The law requires this person to be a Malaysian and the crane is not supposed to operate outside the hoardings on the building, especially in the space above public roads. The crane must also be properly certified.
The contractor and the workers must also be certified by CIDB.