LEMBAGA JURUTERA MALAYSIABOARD OF ENGINEERS MALAYSIA

KDN PP11720/01/2010(023647) ISSN 0128-4347 VOL.43 SEPT-NOV 2009 RM10.00

Volume 43 Sept - Nov 2009

4 Presidents Message

Editors Note

6 Announcement PelaksanaanOne Stop Centre (OSC) Online PublicationCalender

Cover Feature 8 OccupationalSafetyAndHealthForensics

15 SafetyAndHealth InRoadTransportation

18 SafetyAndHealthAssessmentSystem InConstruction

Engineering & Law 21 ThePAMContract2006AtAGlance

Feature 23 LegislativeApproachToWaterQualityManagement In MalaysiaSuccessAndChallenges

28 EconomicValueOfWildBees InHoneyCollection FromTheForest

33 GoodAnimalHusbandryPractice

37 CentralizedAndDecentralizedWastewaterManagement InMalaysiaExperiencesAndChallenges (Part 2)

45 SafetyofElectricalWorkers

49 TreatmentofTimber InHousingForSafeOccupation

Engineering Nostalgia 54 AMegaProject InThe1970sTemengorHydro ElectricProject

55 KualaLumpur InThe1950s JalanMedanPasar

53

54

8

c o n t e n t s

45

presidents message

The recent spate of building failures has attracted wide publicity in the press. Engineers as usual are conveniently associated with these mishaps. Public perception of engineers role and competencies with respect to the above should remind us to revisit the safety and health aspects of our design and supervision works.

The work of Occupational Safety and Health Forensics is well highlighted in an article from DOSH. The Construction Industry Standard on Safety and Health Assessment System in Construction (SHASSIC) paper provides an insight into the important aspects of site assessment that should be of interest to the construction site management team.

As the year end is always linked to monsoons and natural mishaps, we hope extra effort will be given to mitigating foreseeable landslides through better management of safety and health measures.

Ir Fong Tian YongEditor

KDN PP11720/01/2010(023647) ISSN 0128-4347

As the nation continues on its way to fully developed status, the health and welfare of its workforce become ever more important. The role of engineers in ensuring safety and health cannot be overstated, whether directly as safety officers, designers or as engineers in maintenance of plant and equipment.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act, 1994 (OSHA) makes it obligatory for the designer of

buildings as well as plants to ensure that they are safe for use. Safety and health matters encompass almost every aspect of engineering works from the simple electronic assembly factory to utilities, industries and complex construction works. Many shop drawings require sound engineering input on good method statement. Engineers can no longer leave it to contractors alone to ensure work site safety. Work site accident rate can be reduced further if all stakeholders go the extra mile to give due priority to safety and health matters. The costs resulting from an accident such as medical and insurance payments can be exorbitant. Where it results in loss of human lives, the anguish of the victims family is tremendous. As the pace of technological advancement continues its steep upward curve, engineers will be expected to come up with innovative measures to address safety and health issues.

I hope that the recently introduced Safety and Health Assessment System in Construction developed by CIBD will enhance the overall safety and health standard in our construction sites and all other work places. More standards and guidelines in other work places should be drawn up as the safety and health of our work force cannot be compromised.

Dato Sri Prof Ir. Dr. Judin bin Abdul KarimPresidentBOARD OF ENGINEERS MALAYSIA

Vol. 43 Sept - Nov 2009

editors note

4 THE INGENIEUR

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF ENGINEERS MALAYSIA (BEM) 2009/2010

PresidentYBhg. Dato Sri Prof. Ir. Dr Judin Abdul Karim

SecretaryIr. Ruslan Abdul Aziz

RegistrarIr. Hizamul-Din Ab. Rahman

MembersYBhg Tan Sri Prof. Ir. Dr Mohd Zulkifli bin Tan Sri Mohd Ghazali

YBhg Dato Ir. Hj. Ahmad Husaini bin SulaimanYBhg. Dato Ir. Abdul Rashid Maidin

YBhg. Dato Ir. Dr Johari bin BasriYBhg. Datuk (Dr) Ir. Abdul Rahim Hj. Hashim

YBhg. Brig. Jen. Dato Pahlawan Ir. Abdul Nasser bin Ahmad YBhg. Dato Ir. Prof. Dr Chuah Hean Teik

YBhg. Datuk Ir. Anjin Hj AjikYBhg. Datuk Ar. Dr Amer Hamzah Mohd Yunus

Ir. Wong Siu HiengIr. Mohd Rousdin bin HassanIr. Prof. Dr Ruslan bin Hassan

Ir. Tan Yean ChinIr. Vincent Chen Kim Kieong

Ir. Chong Pick Eng Mr Jaafar bin Shahidan

EDITORIAL BOARD

AdvisorYBhg. Dato Sri Prof. Ir. Dr Judin Abdul Karim

SecretaryIr. Ruslan Abdul Aziz

ChairmanYBhg. Dato Ir. Abdul Rashid bin Maidin

EditorIr. Fong Tian Yong

MembersProf. Sr. Ir. Dr Suhaimi bin Abdul Talib

Ir. Ishak bin Abdul Rahman Ir. Prof. Dr K.S. Kannan

Ir. Mustaza bin Salim Ir. Prem Kumar

Ir. Mohd Rasid OsmanIr. Dr Zuhairi Abdul Hamid

Ir. Ali Askar bin Sher MohamadIr. Rocky Wong

Executive DirectorIr. Ashari Mohd Yakub

Publication OfficerPn. Nik Kamaliah Nik Abdul Rahman

Assistant Publication OfficerPn. Che Asiah Mohamad Ali

Design and ProductionInforeach Communications Sdn Bhd

PrinterArt Printing Works Sdn Bhd

29 Jalan Riong, 59100 Kuala Lumpur

The Ingenieur is published by the Board of Engineers Malaysia (Lembaga Jurutera Malaysia) and is distributed free of charge to

registered Professional Engineers.

The statements and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the writers.

BEM invites all registered engineers to contribute articles or send their views and comments to

the following address:

Commnunication & IT Dept.Lembaga Jurutera Malaysia, Tingkat 17, Ibu Pejabat JKR,

Jalan Sultan Salahuddin,50580 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2698 0590 Fax: 03-2692 5017E-mail: bem1@streamyx.com; publication@bem.org.my

Website: http://www.bem.org.my

AdvertisingSubscription Form is on page 48

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announcement

Kepada Semua Jurutera Profesional,

PELAKSANAAN ONE STOP CENTRE (OSC) ONLINE

Susulan Mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Tetap Pengaduan Awam Bil. 1/2009 yang dipengerusikan oleh Y.Bhg. Tan Sri KSN, Jabatan Kerajaan Tempatan telah menganjurkan satu mesyuarat yang turut dihadiri oleh wakil Lembaga Jurutera Malaysia (LJM), Lembaga Arkitek Malaysia (LAM), REHDA dan Lembaga Perancang Bandar dan Desa membincangkan isu keseragaman pelan-pelan yang akan dikemukakan oleh submitting person bagi pelaksanaan OSC online. Mesyuarat tersebut bersetuju agar keperluan-keperluan berikut diambil kira:-

1. Menunjukkan lokasi Pencawang TNB dan Sewerage Treatment Plant di dalam pelan susunatur;

2. Menunjukkan lokasi tangki septik individu di dalam pelan bangunan; serta

3. Menunjukkan lokasi feeder pillar dan fire hydrant di dalam pelan jalan dan parit.

Pelan-pelan ini akan menjadi sebahagian daripada Perjanjian Jual Beli yang ditandatangani.

Semua Jurutera adalah diingatkan untuk mematuhi keperluan-keperluan di atas.

Sekian.

Saya Yang Menurut Perintah,

SetiausahaLembaga Jurutera Malaysia.

BOARD OF ENGINEERS MALAYSIACIRCULAR NO. 1/2009

PAYMENT OF STAMP DUTY

Reference is made to the amendment and implementation of the First Schedule of the Stamp Act 1949 (act) which came into effect from 1st January 2009. Consequential to this amendment, all service agreements of the construction industry are now chargeable with an ad valorem stamp duty at the rate of RM5.00 for every RM1,000.00, or part thereof, of the total contract value. Prior to that, the stamp duty for such contract was a standard fixed sum of RM10.00.

The Board is of the view that Stamp Duty, similar to Service Tax, is not part and parcel of the fees payable to an engineering consultant for services rendered to a client. As such, Stamp Duty shall be borne by the client.

Should BEM FORM (1999) BEM MODEL FORM OF MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN CLIENT AND CONSULTING ENGINEER FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES is used, engineers are advised to insert the following new clause under General Conditions prior to signing the agreement :-

Clause 11.9 The Client shall be responsible for paying any Stamp Duty arising from the signature and executive of the Agreement.

[269th Board Meeting / 12th May 2009]

DATO SRI PROF. Ir. DR. JUDIN ABDUL KARIMPresidentBOARD OF ENGINEERS MALYSIA

Dec 2009: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

March 2010: FACILITY ASSET MANAGEMENT

June 2010: WATER

Sept 2010: HILL-SLOPE DEVELOPMENT

Dec 2010: TRANSPORTATION & SAFETY

By Ke Geok Chuan Director, Forensic Engineering Division, DOSH, Malaysia

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Occupational Safety And Health Forensics

Forensic comes f rom the Latin word forensis meaning public and in those early days, cases were brought to the public square or forum to be discussed and resolved. Nowadays, it refers to facts pertaining to or f i t ted for legal or public argumentation in the courts of law.1

Readers wil l be given an overview of occupational safety and heal th forensics, in the context of science-based techniques and processes that are applied to obtain crucial and relevant in format ion and fac t s when undertaking investigation into the accidents (of myriad nature and characteristics) in the workplaces-structural collapse, combustible dust explosion, catastrophic failure of pressurized vessel, toxic gas release or occupational hygiene malaise. Such forensic findings can then be used and contended later in the law court, or formal argumentation.

Questions that occupational safety and health forensics seek to answer are:

(i) How did the workplace accident or occupational poisoning malaise happen and whether it is accidental or due to negligence?

(ii) Why the building or structure collapse in a progressive manner?

(iii) What are the items, exhibits or evidence are to be discovered, recovered, collected, bagged, tagged and preserved for eventual analysis in the accredited testing laboratory?

(iv) What on-si te monitoring measurements are to be recorded in case of toxic gas releases, and the techniques used?

The paper will explain occupational safety and health forensics and how forensic engineering approach and methodology can be used for occupational safety and health forensic investigations. It will then touch on the beginning of the Forensic Engineering Division under the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), its activities and the investigative processes involved. This will be followed with examples on occupational safety and health forensic investigations that had been conducted. Finally, this paper will elaborate what has been achieved, and how result-oriented investigations on workplace accident allow DOSH to respond proactively to such matter of interest, with the issuance of further policy directive or action.

Scene of Jaya Supermarket building collapse

8 THE INGENIEUR

(v) Who occupied the workplace and had control and duty of care over it?(vi) When and where it happened, for example, while work is in process in the work area?(vii) What nature of work was undertaken before and during the accident?

These answers can be found by conducting occupational safety and health forensic investigations through the forensic engineering approach which i s one of the fields of expertise under forensic science. Using this approach means using the art and science of engineering in identifying the root or basic causes of the accidents involving p lants , mater ia l s , products , structures or components in the workplaces. Such answers cannot be underpinned through classical investigation due to its underlying limitations.

Specifically, there are various sources of information and facts that can be obtained when conducting a forensic engineering investigation.2

Initial site observations, findings and recordings at the scene of accident or plant wreckage; The documentary records and statements from the witnesses or any knowledgeable persons; photographs; contract documents; site CCTV tapes; aerial or land survey of the area; sketches of the work accident scene; building, structure or plant drawings and calculations; technical information copied from computer hard discs; written records of inspection, repair and maintenance; Physical samples or evidence collected from the scene of accident, and the results obtained

later from accredited testing laboratory; On-site sampling or measurement readings using validated rapid-test investigation kits for transient or physical samples; and Using validated computer software for engineering analysis or modelling, to simulate and u n d e r s t a n d t h e m o d e a n d mechanism of the accident-structural failure, toxic gas releases or explosion.

C o n s e q u e n t l y, o b t a i n i n g information and facts judiciously on the accident will allow preparation of complete engineering reports, testimony at hearings and trials in adminis t rat ive or judicial proceedings, and the rendition of further policy directives by the department with regards to the preventive measures affecting life and property.

Background on Forensic Engineering Division

The Forens ic Eng inee r ing Division was set up on June 1, 2007, under the Department of

Occupational Safety and Health, Ministry of Human Resources. The dec i s ion to se t up the d iv i s ion came f rom Cabinet after the high-profile accident case on December 30, 2005, involving the fall of a piece of heavy formwork from a building under construction on a car in Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur. The accident caused the death of an influential corporate director and caused serious injuries to his wife. Their driver escaped unscathed.

Presently, it has 11 officers who are from various technical disciplines and background and is housed in the Departments head office.

There are five sections under the division, namely:-

(i) Mechanical engineering;(ii) Construction engineering;(iii) Occupational Hygiene; (iv) Petrochemical; and(v) Laboratory Testing.

Each section is headed by a senior officer who then reports to the divisional director.

Figure 1 Statistics of Fatality Accident by sectors by DOSH

THE INGENIEUR 9

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Roles and responsibilities of Forensic Engineering Division

Th e D iv i s i o n u n d e r t a k e s and leads forensic engineering investigations into high-profile accident cases; assists law courts by giving expert opinion in the determination of cases when sub-poena is received by the officer; and also provides casework support and assistance to the investigating officers from regional offices for cases which are highly technical and complex in nature.

W h e n n e c e s s a r y , t h e division can be called by other Government departments to assist in the investigation of collapse of building structure, fatalities at the Figure 2 Negative impacts due to incident at workplace.

Figure 3 Basic OSH framework managemet system based on OHSAS18001

10 THE INGENIEUR

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workplace, and premature failure of completed building system and machinery.

Since its inception, the division has notched several casework successes. About four completed cases have been decided by the courts and the responsible party or parties have been fined and sanctioned. A few cases are still pending, awaiting the decisions of the courts.

In all workplace accidents, investigation officers from regional offices will lead investigations but the provision of specialized investigative services for complex or intricate cases will be provided by the Forensic Engineering Division. Written protocol on the need for forensic engineering services during investigation have been established and communicated clearly to divisional and regional officers.

Also, the divisions involvement in such accident cases in the past two years, have contributed and helped the regional offices to reduce the number of cold or unresolved cases.

Forensic Engineering Investigation Process

Forensic engineering investigation starts from initial site visit, through report preparation to adjudication and tends to be holistic, involving multiple disciplines, a variety of old tools (used in the new ways), and new tools.

The most successful forensic engineering investigations rely on

the approach of selecting the most applicable scientific techniques from numerous methodologies.

An investigation relying on the results of single forensic techniques, exclusive of other available tools, is frequently successfully challenged when contrary evidence based on multiple forensic approaches is introduced. When forensic evidence is arrayed as multiple, but independent lines of evidence, a stronger scientific case, less susceptible to scientific challenge emerges.2

Attention has to be given during the collection of evidence in the accident scene to ensure that the strict requirement of chain of custody is upheld at all times. Otherwise, the case exhibits or samples that have been collected even though relevant to the investigation can be held inadmissible later in the courts of law. This comes about when the defendant can raise reasonable doubt on the management of the exhibits that have been identified and collected.

Reconstruction of the accident or event will be conducted after

Figure 4 The objectives of Construction Design Management Regulations

Figure 5 CHAIR Process

THE INGENIEUR 11

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the laboratory results have been received so that the testable hypotheses can be checked and confirmed for the complete accident report to be prepared.

L a t e l y, t h e r e h ave b e e n increasing number of prosecutions by t he Depa r tmen t aga in s t companies who have contravened occupational safety and health laws. It is expected that some of these cases can become extremely protracted, as expert witnesses in law court sometimes provide conflicting interpretations of the investigative data.

I t i s in th i s context tha t occupational safety and health forensics is developing into a specialism, leading to greater formalization of investigation methods, which should lead to more definitive findings and less scope for experts to disagree. Now it is a significant subject in its own right in courses offered by local and overseas public universities.

Forensic cases investigated

Some of the big cases that have been investigated are as follows: combustible dust explosion in a grains and flour milling factory in Lumut which caused the death of four workers and widespread and severe damage to the loading and unloading jetty and appurtenances; fire and explosion caused by static electricity discharge during the processing of stevia powder in Nilai which caused serious damages to factory building, and costly production outages; fire on two bulk storage tanks at the petroleum terminal facility in Tanjung Langsat Port with damages running into millions of dollars which was recorded by the site CCTV; and fire and explosion

involving acetylene gas during filling and bottling operation, at the factory in Simpang Pulai which caused injuries to workers, massive damage to production facility, and destruction of more than 400 cylinder bottles.

Since its inception, the Division has investigated a number of interesting and highly technical cases involving construction or engineering activities. Examples are: the sudden collapse of elevated temporary loading platform at the Kipmart building project site, Tampoi in June 2007 which caused three fatalities; failures of several hammerhead and luffing tower cranes during lifting operation and involving a number of fatalities in the last two years; cascading collapse and failure of several TNB transmission towers during stringing and tensioning of metal conductors on April 14, 2008 in Kapar,Klang with one fatality; failure of temporary gondola or motorized loading platform equipment in early 2008 which caused the death of three construction workers

in Bukit Antarabangsa; and the catastrophic collapse of Jaya Supermarket, Petaling Jaya on May 28, 2009, at about 5.00pm during the demolition work on the building. The collapsed portion of the building was constructed using the two-way pre-stressed concrete unbounded tendons method. The accident killed seven workers and injured three workers.

In the latter case, which caught the attention of the countrys leadership, the Division led the forensic engineering investigation i n t o t he acc iden t and t he reports have been completed and made available to other Government departments for further deliberation.

Since the case was complicated, technical assistance and expertise was sought from the Construction Engineering Testing Unit (CETU), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). Such technical collaboration with outside agency will be strengthened further in the years ahead. Through such joint investigative actions, the underlying causes for the

Figure 6 Steps in implementing GUIDE

12 THE INGENIEUR

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progressive failure of the building structure had been discovered, analyzed, and concluded within the time-frame agreed.

Recently, the Division was also called to investigate an accident case at the jetty in Tanjung Karang fishing village. In this unfortunate case, there were six fatalities and three injuries due to exposure and inhalation of toxic gas involving hydrogen sulphide (H2S).The gas evolved when the decomposition of the discarded fishes took place in the storage compartments, due to power outages for five days. The stocks were usually packed in 50-kg bags and then normally kept refrigerated. The holding stock in each compartment is about 3,000kg.

Post-accident measurements of the H 2S levels in the holding compartments, using calibrated multi-gas meters, found that the levels exceeded 100ppm. At the levels recorded, the concentrations of H2S deadened the smell and no odour was detectable. Carbon disulphide (CS2), and carbon monoxide (CO) gases were also detected but ammonia (NH3) gas was not detected. The refrigeration system used chlorofluoromethane or R-22 as the refrigerant media. Leak tests on the cooling coils, fixtures, connections and appurtenances did not show any leakages and the system test pressure was maintained. The accident findings had been communicated to the state Government and other relevant authorities. Briefings to fishermen and owners of the other jetties have been scheduled to make workers, employers and occupiers aware of what had happened and how to safeguard their personal safety and health. Brochures containing basic safety information when working in such similar environment will be circulated.

Lessons learnt

Repercussions from the Jaya Supermarket building collapse, for example, reverberated beyond the accident site: causing great inconveniences to the surrounding residents; affecting the public who were passing by the area; and disrupting

Fish holding compartment in Tanjung Karang Village where six died

THE INGENIEUR 13

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business activities around the scene of the accident.

From cases investigated, a lot of useful occupational safety and health information were obtained which can then be used by the Department to formulate further policy directives to prevent such similar accidents or events. Emphasis is placed on lessons learned from each failure.

Steps have been taken to have such information disclosed and disseminated to the workers, public and all other interested parties through the publication of forensic engineering case series; seminars and promotion activities; and the publication of Safety Alerts in the departments portal http://www.dosh.gov.my

It is important that written documents from the companies are taken into possession early, to allow the investigators to examine, analyze and extract whatever pertinent information and facts that may help in the direction and management of the case.

Additionally, there is a need for an internet-based repository system with capabilities to store, archive, retrieve and distribute relevant technical data, information and facts during an accident investigation. Also, the facility will allow for on-line interactive discussion and collaboration between the investigators on the ground and officers in the office. Lag in responsiveness on sharing of such information among investigators, is a thing of the past once this system is ready by September this year.

Similarly, it was found that officers must have a flair for investigative work and possess good communication skills in addition to engineering knowledge, analytical skills, and occupational safety and health expertise. Understanding

the difficulties on the ground, and scope of work which is different for each case also necessitates co-operative teamwork from each of the officers in the investigation team.3

Moving forward

The Division has faced many challenges since its establishment and at the same time the officers have learned a lot from the many high profile cases. To enable the Division to move forward and respond quickly and effectively to accident cases in future, the following plans of actions have been identified:

(i) Enhancing exper t i se o f officers by the provision of broad-based opportunities to attend forensic engineering seminars, courses, and conferences whether locally or abroad on a regular basis;

(ii) Providing adequate resources-monetary, logis t ics , sof tware technology support and rapid-test investigation equipment;

(iii) Collaborating with experts from local higher institutions of higher learning and accredited testing laboratories;

(iv) Building and establishing technical rapport and links with external forensic engineering experts from overseas institutions;

(v) Allowing serving officers to attend post-graduate courses on fo rens ic eng inee r ing o r allied disciplines and tutored by experienced lecturers;

(vi) Establishing good rapport and liaisons with the other relevant

authorities like the Police or the Fire and Rescue Department;

(vii) Using validated software tools for investigative work to understand fully the mode and mechanism of an accident or event.

Conclusion

The Forens ic Eng ineer ing Division has achieved its primary objective as demonstrated from the number of high profile cases investigated and completed. The Division needs to anticipate new casework challenges in the years ahead, by having sound and practicable investigative framework in place.

Al though the road ahead looks tortuous, the experience obtained and the wisdom accrued, will able officers to undertake any occupat ional safety and health forensic investigation with confidence, credibility, and re-doubtable integrity.

Last but not least, the adoption of occupational safety and health forensics in accident cases can contribute to improvement in the standard of occupational safety and health compliance in workplaces and benefit workers, employers and the nation as a whole.

REFERENCES1. David W.Fowler and Joe J.King-Chair in Engineering. The University of Texas at Austin.Forensic Engineering: Detective Engineering.

2. RE Hester ad RM Harrison. Environmental Forensics.

3. Kenneth L. Carper. Forensic Engineering.

BEM

14 THE INGENIEUR

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By Ahmad Farhan Mohd Sadullah & Aimi binti Mohd. FahmiMalaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS)

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THE INGENIEUR 15

Safety And Health In Road Transportation

In the past, drivers were usually been singled out as the primary cause of accidents. However, this has changed lately, as the safe system approach has put forward that not only drivers are to be blamed, but the entire system must play its role instead. After all, drivers are not driving in a vacuum. They require vehicles to drive and ride on, and the vehicles in turn require the infrastructure to cruise on. Each of these will also require many entities behind them to make it work as safe system, such as design, operation, construction, legal framework and others. It is therefore fitting that the road transportation system be governed by a safety system, and the Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) Code of Practice is one such example.

There was an increase of 25.35 % in accidents involving commercial vehicles, with crashes involving buses increasing by 131.25% in Malaysia from 2000 to 2005 (AH, Zulkipli, Othman, & Sarani, 2007). The frequency of high prof i le accidents of commercial vehicles involving mult iple deaths has become a grave concern. The crash investigations carried out by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) have discovered that crashes involving commercial vehicles need to be addressed via the system approach, addressing the vehicles owner as a whole and not only micro-managing each individual cause only.

The principles in Safety, Health and Environment management system are obvious when it comes

The Occupational Safety and Health regulations are seldom associated with the road transport industry. As a result, the road transport industry in Malaysia has been the subject of many scrutinies with regards to the safety of its operation. Any crash involving commercial vehicles will catch the attention of the public, and analysis has shown that there are many flaws governing the safety standards of the road transport industry. Inspired by the more stringent requirement for safety in the air and maritime sector, the Safety, Health and the Environment (SHE) Code of Practice (COP) was introduced in 2007. This paper provides highlights of the SHE COP content as well as the lessons learnt from its implementation.

to the commitment of upper management, driver management and also vehicle maintenance. The enactment for safety in working environment as outlined in the Occupational Safety and Health 1994 Act (OSHA) Regulation already exists, but has never been implemented and tailored to the transportation sector. OSHA is not only an Act that makes provisions for securing the safety, health and welfare of the person at work, but also protects others against risks to safety or health in connection with the activities of the person at work.

R o a d t r a f f i c a c c i d e n t s involving commercial vehicles will undoubtedly affect third party victims which are passengers and/or drivers of other vehicles. Seeing this as urgent, a group of Government agencies and some from the private sector, in a concerted effort, started to work on the Safety, Health and Environmental (SHE) Code of Practice (COP) for the Transportation Sector in 2007.

The target group of the COP are all the employers and the employees of the transportation industry. The intention of SHE COP is to improve fleet management in Malaysia, ensuring safety and decreasing the number of accidents and fatalities. The SHE COPs specific objectives serve as a guideline to employers and employees regarding the correct and effective methods of handling matters pertaining to the safety and health of employees, to educate and create awareness about safety and health at the workplace and also to ensure that the public is not exposed to accidents and/or risks due to the practice of the industry.

S ince i t s in t roduc t ion in 2007, SHE COP has only been

16 THE INGENIEUR

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implemented either on a voluntary basis or as a punitive measure following inquiries and litigation. This is under the custody of the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (LPKP). The implementation of SHE COP can be considered as a success as the number of accidents involving lorries and buses have seen a steady decrease beginning in 2007 (PDRM) as illustrated by Figure 1.

The implementation of SHE COP consists of five elements of management responsibili ty towards SHE which are policy, o r gan i s a t i on , p l ann ing and implementation, evaluation and action for improvement. These five elements are essential in ensuring the continual improvement of the implementation of SHE COP and shown in Figure 2. As a system approach, SHE COP aspires to have transport companies responsible towards the safety of their service for both workers and customers. SHE COP is mindful that all its aspirations must not be lip or document-service only, but must cascade down to the service levels, where the safety of the service is going to be experienced by passengers. Under the Continual Quality

Improvement (CQI) process, the entire SHE culture must include a performance-based evaluation, an internal audit as well as an external audit system.

Th e S t a n d a r d O p e r a t i n g P r o c e d u r e ( S O P ) i n t h e implementat ion of SHE COP consists of four main elements which are driver management, vehicle management, risk and t ravel management and also

quality assurance system (QAS) through document management. Table 2 provides details of SOP in SHE COP (AH, Zulkipli, Othman, & Sarani, 2007).

It is clear that if all transport companies heed the principles behind SHE COP, many tragic crashes involving commercial vehicles like lorries and buses can be avoided. When companies see safety as good business sense and a social responsibility, we may achieve our aim of zero fatality, at least amongst commercial vehicles.

F r o m t h e m a n y c r a s h invest igations carried out by MIROS, many contributing factors to crashes can be avoided had the companies heeded and made SHE COP a culture and practice in the i r compan ies . Many crashes were associated with the issue of driver management. The recruitment policy to ensure suitable, competent and legal drivers will address the issues associated with the quality and

Figure 1 Accidents Involving Lorries and Buses

Figure 2 Main Elements of SHE COP

THE INGENIEUR 17

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BEM

the discipline of drivers. Another issue commonly associated with crashes involving commercial vehicles are the road-worthiness o r c r a s h - w o r t h i n e s s o f commercial vehicles. Issues of structural integrity, strong seat anchorage points, condition of brakes and tyres may be easily tackled with the implementation of SHE COP.

Presently, the commitment towards safety is primarily from the exterior, i.e through legal means. However, if companies do not see safety in the light of what

we aspire, there are many and usual means to trick the system. It is therefore imperative that SHE COP transform the prevailing attitude towards safety towards self-enforcement, backed by good business sense.

SHE COP for the Transportation Sec tor has now been taken under the guardianship of the Department of Safety and Health (DOSH) under the Min i s t ry o f Human Resources . The Tataamalan Industri Keselamatan dan Kesihatan Pekerjaan bagi Aktiviti Pengangkutan Jalan is

currently being drafted by DOSH and i t s implementa t ion and enforcement will be more holistic in approach and governed by the more appropriate OSHA 1994.

REFERENCES

AH, K., Zulkipli, Z., Othman, I., & Sarani, R. (2007). Kod Amalan Keselamatan, Kesihatan dan Persekitaran untuk sektor pengangkutan.

PDRM.

Table 2 Standard Operating Procedures of SHE COP

Stan

dard

Ope

rati

ng P

roce

dure

(SO

P)

Key Elements Sub-elements

Driver Management

Driver hiring procedure Driver categorization Training & mindset change Driving procedure (journey) Driving hours & working hours Driver scheduling Reward & penalty

Vehicle Management

Vehicle acquisition Checklist on turn on/off engine Seatbelt for drivers & passengers (bus & lorry) Display vehicle license Fuel fill-up procedure Vehicle usage Service & maintenance Replacement & disposal of vehicle Specific driver for specific vehicles

Risk & Journey Management

Management of passengers & goods Risk & hazard identification Journey risk management Emergency response Insurance coverage Personal accident coverage (PA)

QAS through Document Management

Incident/Accident Report System Management of complaints & concerns SHE training & competency Management of contractors Driver Management Records Vehicle Management Records Risk & Journey Management Records Surveillance System logbook/blackbox/GPS/tachograph Self-evaluation

By Ir M RamuserenSenior Manager, Standard & Quality Division, CIDB

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Safety and Health Assessment System in Construction or SHASSIC is an independent method to assess and evaluate the safety and health performance of a contractor in construction works/ projects. SHASSIC was developed by a Technical Committee comprising industry stakeholders. It was published as Construction Industry Standard or CIS 10:2008 in November 2008.

SHASSIC Objectives

SHASSIC was designed and developed to enable the user to achieve any or combination of the following objectives:

Benchmark the level of safety and health performance of construction industry in Malaysia; Have a standard system on safety and health assessment in the construction industry; Assess safety and health performance of contractor(s) based on this standard; Evaluate the performance of contractor(s) on the safety and health practices at site; Improve and take necessary corrective action on OSH performance and management at site; and Compile data for statistical analysis.

Use Of SHASSIC In Construction Activities

SHASSIC is intended to complement the normal contractual requirement and specification in a project. It is not intended to be used independently as working requirement and specification. Unless specified in the project contract, safety and health designated person should not use SHASSIC to decide if the project site or parts of the project site are in accordance with requirement of the relevant Acts and Regulations or OSH Management System. It is still the responsibility of the contractor to ensure that

safety and health of construction site conforms to legislations requirement, approved standards, code of practice, guidelines, specifications and contractual requirements.

Preferably, the assessment shall be carried out when there are different type of activities going on at same time (concurrent activities) and many workers of different trades are involved at the site. It is recommended that SHASSIC assessment be carried out when physical work progress is between 25% and 75%.

Scope Of SHASSIC

SHASSIC sets out the safety and health management and practices of contractors for various aspects of the construction work activities. SHASSIC covers three main components of assessment such as document check, site/workplace inspection and employees interview covering components such as OSH policy, OSH organisation, HIRARC, OSH training and promotion, machinery and equipment management, materials management, emergency preparedness, accident investigation and reporting, records management and performance monitoring.

Application shall cover COSH management system and practices during construction work activities, particularly work activities covered under Occupational Safety and Health Act, 1994, Factories and Machinery Act, 1967 and regulations made under this Act such as Factories and Machinery (Building Operations and Works of Engineering Construction) (Safety) Regulations 1986, and Factories and Machinery (Safety, Health and Welfare) Regulations, 1970.

For the purpose of terms and references, the following Acts, Regulations and OHS management system standards shall take precedence, Occupational Safety and Health Act, 1994 (Act 514) and Regulations, Factories and Machinery Act, 1967 (Act 139) and

18 THE INGENIEUR

SHASSICSafety And Health Assessment System In Construction

Regulations and Rules, OHSAS 18001: 2007, MS 1722: 2005 and ILO OHS MS: 2001.

SHASSIC Assessment

Basically, SHASSIC assessment is divided into three different components namely, document check; work site inspection and employee interview.

1. Document checkChecking of OSH-rela ted documents and

records will enable the assessor to determine the compliances of the establishment of safety and health programmes and activities. There are 63 questionnaires identified for this component check.

2. Site/workplace inspectionThere are 62 items identified for inspection for

this component. Workplace inspection shall be carried out at five high risk areas within a site. These locations will be determined by the SHASSIC assessor. The assessor may also discuss with the principal contractor prior to selection of these high risk areas for assessment.

This assessment shall provide the assessor with the valuable visual comparison evidence on the OSH programmes implemented, enforced and practiced at site/workplace.

3. Employees interviewEmployees shall be randomly selected from

all levels and occupation so that they could be interviewed by the assessor using established standard questionnaire. There are 48 questions for this component.

The employees in this component are categorised into three categories, as spelt out in Annex C. The number of employees from each category to be interviewed are as follows:

Category A One employee from management personnel,

Category B Three employees from safety and health personnel or OSH Committee members and/or combination of both; and

Category C Ten workers from various trades/skills.

Weightage & Score

The weightage for safety and health performance are allocated in accordance to three components as shown in Table 1 and the score calculation is shown below.

Table 1. Allocation of weightage for componentsComponents Weightage (%)

Document check 40

Workplace inspection 40

Employee interview 20

Total score 100

The weightage system is aimed at making the score quantitative in representing the safety and health performance of the respective contractor.

Basic formulas for respective component weightage are as follows:

Document Check

Total Number C Scored X 40 % = SHASSIC score for Document Check - (A) (63 Number of NA)

Workplace Inspection

Total Number C Scored X 40 % = SHASSIC score for Workplace Inspection - (B) (310 Number of NA)

Employees Interview

Total Number C Scored X 20 % = SHASSIC score for Employees Interview - (C) (330 Number of NA)

where,

C is the total number of ComplianceNA is the total number of item that is Not Applicable.

The total SHASSIC score in Document Check (A) plus (+) total SHASSIC score in Workplace Inspection (B) plus (+) the total SHASSIC score in Employees Interview (C) components shall justify the ranking star or stars. Stars awarded range from 1 star to 5 stars as per Table 2.

THE INGENIEUR 19

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Who Can Be A SHASSIC Assessor?

A SHASSIC Assessor must be a person who is qualified and have certain years of working experience in construction industry. A SHASSIC Assessor shall fulfil one of the following criteria below.

Has successfully attended and passed one day course organised by CIDB and has a minimum of five years working experience in the construction industry; or Has successfully attended and passed OHSAS 18001 Lead Auditor Course and has a minimum of three years working experience in the construction industry (construction site). (Exempted from attending one-day course conducted by CIDB); or A Construction Safety and Health Officer (CSHO*) with two years experience in the construction industry. (Exempted from attending one-day course conducted by CIDB)

Note: CSHO means a person who is registered with DOSH as Safety & Health Officer and attended 5 five-day course organised by CIDB for Construction Safety & Health Officer.

Contractors may engage any qualified person above to carry out SHASSIC assessment or alternatively they can make arrangement with CIDB to carry out SHASSIC assessment. Currently CIDB is providing this service Free of Charge (FOC). Contractors just need to fill in a FORM which is available at Standard & Quality Division, 10th Floor,

Grand Seasons Avenue, Jalan Pahang, Kuala Lumpur and fax it to 03 40451808. Thats all, so simple! CIDB officers will contact the contractor and will make arrangement for SHASSIC assessment.

How Contractors Can Benefit From SHASSIC Assessment?

Some of the benefits that the contractor could expect after carrying out SHASSIC assessment are listed below :-

Based on SHASSIC score, the contractor could identify areas where they have failed or did not score high. Customise training or remedial measures could be arranged to improve safety and health management for these areas A proper safety and health assessment system could be established at construction sites and would make it easier for authorities to inspect site as OSH system is already in place. Guided checklists based on SHAASICs document will help the Safety and Health Officers to discharge their duties more effective and efficiently

CONCLUSION

SHASSIC was developed to assist everyone particularly the contractors, in managing safety and health at construction sites based on safety and health performances assessment. CIDB believes, by using the SHASSIC assessment system as a norm of practice at site, accidents can be prevented or minimized.

Table 2. Star Ranking SHASSIC (Score %) Star(s) Awarded Justification

85 to 100 Potential and significant workplace high risks/ hazards are managed and documented.

70 to 84 Potential and significant workplace high risks/ hazards are managed and documented but there are few low risks work activities are neglected.

55 to 69 Potential and significant workplace high risks/ hazards are managed and documented but there are few medium risks work activities neglected.

40 to 54 Potential and significant workplace high risks/ hazards partly managed and not properly documented.

39 and less Potential and significant risks/ hazards poorly managed and not properly documented.

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20 THE INGENIEUR

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The PAM Contract 2006 At A GlanceBy Ir. Harbans Singh K.S.P.E., C. Eng., Advocate and Solicitor (Non-Practicing)

engineering & law

The PAM (Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia) standard forms of contract have been widely used by the local building industry over the last 40 years or so. These forms were published as PAM/ISM 1969 Forms; the label suggesting that they were also endorsed by The Institution of Surveyors, Malaysia. Over the years, much changes occurred in the building industry and the pertinent law but the said forms remained static without any updating.

In the mid-nineties, PAM undertook a complete revamp of the PAM/ISM 1969 Form which was replaced by the PAM 1998 Form. The PAM 1998 Form was extensively employed for the building industry in Malaysia but was subjected to much criticism by a segment of the said industry due to alleged deficiencies and shortcomings. The above necessitated a further review which culminated in the drafting and implementation of the latest revised form entitled The PAM CONTRACT 2006. The latter form has been officially launched and intended by PAM to replace the earlier PAM 1998 Form.

FORMS REVISED

The PAM 2006 family of forms of conditions of contract comprise the following individual forms that have been revised:

PREVIOUS FORM NEW FORM APPLICATION

The Malaysian Standard Form of Building Contract (PAM 1998 Form With Quantities Edition).

Agreement and Conditions of PAM Contract 2006 (With Quantities)

For Building Contracts based on Bills of Quantities (BQ)

The Malaysian Standard Form of Building Contract (PAM 1998 Form Without Quantities Edition)

Agreement and Conditions of PAM Contract 2006 (Without Quantities)

For Building Contracts based on Drawings and Specifications

Agreement and Conditions of Building Sub-Contract (PAM 1998 Sub-Contract Form)

Agreement and Conditions of PAM Sub-Contract 2006

For Nominated Sub-Contractors

It should be noted that the above forms are for contracts (or sub-contracts) employing the traditional general contracting route of procurement and are only for building works. No such form has been drafted nor formulated for contracts procured along the turnkey/design & build/design & construct/EPC method of procurement and/ or for fee contracting.

NUMBER OF CLAUSES

With Quantities Edition

PREVIOUS FORM (PAM 1998) NEW FORM (PAM 2006) CHANGE (CLAUSES)

35 38 Additional 3 Clauses

THE INGENIEUR 21

Without Quantities Edition

PREVIOUS FORM (PAM 1998) NEW FORM (PAM 2006) CHANGE (CLAUSES)

35 38 Additional 3 Clauses

Sub-Contract Form

PREVIOUS FORM (PAM 1998) NEW FORM (PAM 2006) CHANGE (CLAUSES)

23 33 Additional 10 Clauses

PRINCIPAL CHANGES

Although the general arrangement of the clauses as in the previous PAM 98 Form, has been maintained, both the format and content in the new forms have been appreciably altered. Some changes undertaken have brought the new form more in tandem with contemporary developments, although these are still relatively deficient in some material aspects. Definite time periods for the principal procedural matters have now been stipulated even for the architect and the employer. This will positively further good contract administration practice. The contractors and employers obligations and liabilities have been now set out in much clearer language and the roles and responsibilities of the Architect (and the quantity surveyor and the engineers) expanded and amplified.

Prima facie, as compared with the previous PAM 98 Form, in particular, the employers obligations and liabilities have been appreciably enhanced with its rights relatively reduced or watered-down. Consequently, in terms of risk allocation, there is a significant transfer of the risk involved in the contract to the employer as compared to the previous PAM 98 Form.

The end result of the above changes is that notwithstanding it being presumably intended to be a more balanced form in terms of risk allocation, in the context of the local building industry, it appears to be now so-called more contractor friendly. Furthermore, despite some improvements in style and formatting, the form is still cluttered with deficiencies, material omissions and provisions difficult to comprehend and implement by an average practitioner. Overall, for a standard form that has just undergone major revisions apparently to address the alleged shortcomings of the previous form and perhaps to make it a frontrunner for the local building industry, save for some welcome changes, it falls rather short of expectations. Consequently, it may need another major revamp depending on how it is accepted by all the main players in the industry, especially the employers who still remain the single most influential segment of the local building industry.

CONCLUDING COMMENTS

Despite the various changes undertaken, on an overall basis, the layout and design of the form is inadequate and confusing. Like provisions dealing with similar issues should have been collated and drafted consecutively e.g. provisions dealing with financial matters such as variations, payment, etc. should have been set out in close relation to each other instead of being all over the form. In the absence of being privy to the drafting philosophy, the form appears to be just a revision and reformulation of the previous PAM 98 Form with the layout being maintained but additions/amendments made on a cut and paste basis. It would have been more appropriate to undertake a wholesale revision and reformatting of the previous PAM 98 Form to bring it in tandem with other contemporary forms of conditions of contract.

The revisions undertaken have generally not taken into account contemporary developments in the industry e.g. the recommendations of documents such as the SCL Protocol on Delay and Disruption have not been given due consideration, etc.; thereby defeating the aim of the local industry being on par with international developments/practice. Furthermore, the predominant use of terms and expressions that are inherently vague or smacking of legalese will certainly contribute to lack of clarity, precision and thereby lead to possible disputes as to interpretation. Finally, it is submitted that the form could have been structured such that it would have given the parties especially the employer greater flexibility and more options in using the form; which being a standard form cannot fit into the varied uses that are likely to be encountered in practice.

22 THE INGENIEUR

engineering & law

By Hashim DaudDirector (Marine and Water Division), Department of Environment Malaysia

These laws are largely sectoral in character and focused on specific areas of activity. The increasingly complex environmental problems faced by Malaysia required a comprehensive piece of legislation which came in the form of the 1974 Environmental Quality Act. The Act came into force on Apr 1, 1974 for the abatement and control of pollution and enhancement of the environment. Three pieces of subsidiary legislation were formed as an initial legislative approach to water quality management. These were:

( i ). Environmental Quali ty (Prescribed Premises) (Crude Palm Oil) Regulations 1977;

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pollution control and prevention of environmental degradation. A holistic approach is required to manage river water quality.

WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Legislation

Laws are used as a form o f management response to env i r onmen t a l p rob l ems i n Malaysia. Amongst the laws r e l e v a n t t o w a t e r q u a l i t y management are the 1929 Mining Enactment, the 1930 Waters Enactment, the 1954 Drainage Works Ordinance and the 1974 Street, Drainage and Building Act.

T he Na t iona l Po l i cy on Envi ronment s ta tes that the nation shall implement env i ronmen ta l l y sound and sus ta inable development for t h e c o n t i n u o u s e c o n o m i c , social and cultural progress and enhancement of the quality of life of Malaysians. It is based on eight inter-related and mutually supporting principles and where water is concerned will include the sustainable use of water resources, conservat ion of a rivers vitality and diversity, and the continuous improvement of its water quality. The policy outlines the strategies and measures to be taken towards an effective management of water resources,

THE INGENIEUR 23

Legislative Approach To Water Quality Management In Malaysia Success And Challenges

Water resources in Malaysia come in the forms of rivers, lakes and ground water. As long as we can remember, rivers have served as the sole source of water supply for our consumption in almost all parts of the country. Since achieving independence, the country has developed by leaps and bound from an agriculture-based society to an urbanised and industrialised nation. This shift and a rapidly growing population have both threatened rivers as a vital source of water supply. In addition, river water quality has deteriorated, making its availability for consumption much more difficult. The continual pollution of rivers will deplete this water resource even further and will have serious repercussions on the national agenda to become a fully developed nation by the year 2020 if essential steps are not taken to improve river water quality.

This paper describes the legislative approach to water quality management in the country, and its success and challenges.

24 THE INGENIEUR

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( ii ). Environmental Quali ty (Prescribed Premises) (Raw Natural Rubber) Regulations 1978; and( iii ). Environmental Quali ty (Sewage and Industrial Effluents) Regulations 1979.

Sources o f pol lu t ion that threatened our water environment have been subjected to these regulations since the 1970s. It is essentially a command and control approach utilising effluent discharge standards. The effluent discharge standard was made much stricter for pollution sources upstream of public water supply intakes than those of downstream of such intakes.

In addition to making use of these laws to control pollution, additional legislation is also in place to effect prevention of pollution into a river or water body. A thi rd mechanism involves a continuous assessment or monitoring of all the rivers in the country to ascertain the improvement or otherwise of our river water quality.

Prevention

The legislative approach in water quality management effected by the 1974 Environmental Quality Act makes use of Section 34A where a report on impact on the environment resulting from prescribed activities (EIA requirement) is mandatory. Among the prescribed activities or projects that can cause water pollution include airport, housing, industry, mining, petroleum, power generation, resort and recreational development, and waste treatment and disposal facilities.

For non-prescribed activities, site suitability evaluation would also be carried out so as to assess the capacity of the area to receive

additional pollution load and the requirement for waste disposal.

The Environmental Quality (Sewage and Industrial Effluents) Regulations 1979 also require that written permission be obtained before the construction of any building or carrying out any work that may result in a new source of effluent or discharge.

Water Pollution Sources and Control

Malaysian rivers are degraded by both point and non-point sources of pollution. The major point sources of pollution are sewage treatment plants, agro-based industries, manufacturing industries, sullage or grey-water from commercial and residential premises, and pig farms. Non-point source (or diffuse) pollution is largely due to storm runoff after a downpour. Earthworks and land clearing activities contribute to siltation of rivers and can be both point and non-point sources of pollution.

Agro-based industries

The ear ly year s o f pos t -independence saw a proliferation of agro-based industries such as raw natural rubber factories and palm oil mills which polluted our rivers. The control of pollution from these sources involved a combination of both economic and command-control instruments which has proven to be very successful. These industries did not only invest in pollution control

research and development but also made great efforts to comply as rapidly as possible with the stipulated effluent-discharge or land-disposal standards. They were induced to install effective wastewater treatment systems instead of paying the prohibitive effluent-related or pollution fees imposed under the l icensing requirements that came into force in 1977. The organic pollutant load dumped into rivers has been greatly reduced by more than 90% of the total load generated.

Manufacturing industries

A new set of environmental problems has emerged as the nation progressed in its industrial development. In addition to organic pollutants, manufacturing industries generate inorganic pollutants, toxic wastes and persistent organic pollutants. All manufacturing industries are required to install wastewater treatment systems to arrest their water pollutants before they are dumped into rivers. The achievement in controlling effluent discharges from these manufacturing industries varies from industry to industry. The small- and medium-scale industries have difficulties in complying with discharge standards. Constraints cited include financial problems and lack of space for the construction of wastewater treatment facilities.

The manufacturing industries are encouraged to implement alternative options such as cleaner production, waste minimisation and waste re-utilisation in order

Rubber factory

to reduce water pollution further. Such options could also enhance production eff iciency, reduce waste generation and thereby its final disposal cost. They are also encouraged to adopt the approach of self-regulation and strive for ISO 14001 Certification not only to ensure compliance with discharge standards but also to attain competitiveness in the global arena.

Efforts are also being stepped up to eliminate indiscriminate disposal of toxic wastes and uncontrolled release of persis tent organic pollutants. The management of toxic wastes is based on the cradle-to-grave concept. There are laws in place to control their generation, storage, transportation, treatment and disposal. An integrated state-of-the-art treatment and disposal facility has been set up and is in full operation since August 1998 to assist the manufacturing industries in the proper management of their toxic wastes.

Sewage Disposal and Sewerage Works

Sewage is a major polluter of our rivers. This is a problem of the past centuries that continues to plague the nation as it enters the 21st century. Initial efforts to control sewage are very much focused on protecting public health but there is now a gradual shift to protect water resources and the natural environment. A private company has been tasked

to manage sewerage works and sewage disposal in the country since 1994 but currently it is only responsible for 86 out of 144 local authority areas. The management of sewerage in these 86 areas is far from holistic since there are sources that do not come under the company such as private sewage treatment plants, individual septic tanks, sewage from primitive systems and discharges of raw sewage from squatters. There are still a lot of efforts required and measures needed to reduce the sewage pollutant loads so that river water quality can be improved.

Sullage (Grey-Water)

An important source of point pollution is sullage or grey-water which originates from residential and commercial premises but is often overlooked. The wastewater can come from places such as kitchen sinks, bathrooms, washing machines, restaurants, wet markets and car washing centres. As rivers pass through urban areas and populated places, the sullage will become a major contributor to water pollution. Usually a stream in an urban area does not have enough assimilative capacity to absorb pollutant loads and will contribute organic pollutants, ammoniacal nitrogen and nutrients to a river nearby. At present,

sullage is not treated and poses a problem to improving river water quality.

Pig Farming

Pig farming cannot continue to be a backyard industry if it is to flourish in the country. This industry has a high demand for water and discharges large quantities of wastewater with high organic content into the rivers. Designated pig farming areas are required not only to ensure a proper control of its wastewater discharges but also for disease control.

Non-Point Pollution And Its Control

Non-point pollution is pollution that comes from many diffuse sources and is associated with rainfall moving over and through the ground. As it moves, the runoff picks up and carries away natural and man-made pollutants and deposits them into lakes, rivers and even ground water. This runoff pollution can come from many different land uses covering large areas and is far more difficult to control than pollution from point sources. One of the best ways to control this pollution is to implement best management practices.

There are at least three types of runoff pollution in the country. Firstly, agricultural runoff that carries pollutants that originate from activities such as pesticide spraying, ferti l ising, planting, harvesting, feedlots, cropland, grazing, plowing and irrigation. The runoff will deposit manure, fertilisers, ammonia, pesticides, livestock waste, oil, toxins, soil and sediment. Good agricultural practices are required to manage

THE INGENIEUR 25

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Construction site

Car washing centre

these activities so that runoff pollutants are minimised.

Second ly, f o re s t r y runo f f associated with activities such as timber harvesting, removal of streamside vegetation, road construction and use in forested areas, and mechanical preparation for tree planting. Good forestry practices are required to minimise s o i l e r o s i o n a n d s i l t a t i o n , destabilisation of stream banks and disruption of river habitats.

Thirdly, urban runoff that will deposit many and high amount of pollutants into rivers and other water bodies. Some of the measures that can be implemented include installing storm water filter to treat drainage and runoff, construction of gross pollutant traps at appropriate places, maintaining vegetation as filters along contours, and constructing wetlands wherever feasible as a good re-vegetation practice to improve river water quality.

The cont ro l o f non-poin t pollution is far from satisfactory but the problem is not unique to this country. Its control is also a major challenge in other parts of the world including the US and countries in Europe.

Erosion and Siltation Control

In the pursuit of national development, the country has embarked on rigorous land clearing activi t ies and earthworks for construction purposes. These have resulted in soil erosion and the dumping of sediments into rivers. Significant negative impacts on the rivers have occurred not only in the form of siltation but also the loss of river habitats. It is necessary to impose control measures on developers to comply with the Erosion of Soil and Control

Plan made by the Drainage and Irrigation Department and the Guidelines for Prevention and Control of Soil Erosion and Siltation issued by the Department of Environment (DOE).

RIVER QUALITY MONITORING

The DOE has established a river monitoring network since 1978 to ascertain the status of river water quality, detect changes in the water quality and, wherever possible, to identify the pollution sources of rivers. It also serves to support environmental management and planning in the country. There are 1,085 water quality monitoring stations sited within 140 river basins throughout the nation. The monitoring programme includes both the in-situ measurements and laboratory analyses of as many as 30 physico-chemical and biological parameters. In addition, 15 automatic water quality monitoring stations are installed to detect changes in river

water quality on a continuous basis at strategic locations in major river basins. Water quality levels for specific parameters can be transmitted real-time to the DOE.

Between 1998 and 2005, the number of clean rivers has risen from 33 to 80 while polluted rivers remained between nine and 16 (see Figure 1). Over the same period, the number of polluted rivers, as measured in terms of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) ranged between 14 and 31 rivers (Figure 2). This organic pollutant originated from agro-based industries, manufacturing industries, sullage, pig farms and sewage. The estimated BOD loads from agro-based industries, manufacturing industries and pig farms were dwarfed by the BOD loads from sewage (Figure 3). This suggests that while industries and pig farms are the major polluters, sewage, nevertheless, remains as a significant polluter whose loading need to be reduced drastically.

26 THE INGENIEUR

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THE INGENIEUR 27

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discharge standards and there is a necessity to review these standards to be in line with current acceptable international standards and availabil i ty of t reatment technology.

Some State Governments are requiring palm oil mills to comply with much str icter discharge standards than those imposed by the Federal Government.

CONCLUSION

The legislative approach in water quality management using the 1974 Environmental Quality Act has been successful in reducing pollution to a certain extent. It has involved pollution control, prevent ion of pol lu t ion and continuous assessment (monitoring) of the river environment. There are still many challenges that need to be addressed to achieve holistic water quality management. Most of the past and present efforts are very much directed at controlling pollution from point sources while non-point pollution has continued unabated. The necessary technical, institutional and legal arrangements are also necessary to treat sullage (grey-water) adequately before it is discharged into rivers. The nation will continue to use water from its rivers for many years to come and it is imperative for the authorities to reduce pollutant loads and improve river water quality on a sustainable basis.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author would like to express his gratitude to Mohd Rosiskada, Noor Azme and Rosmiza for their assistance in the preparation of this paper. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the Department of Environment.

capacity of a river or water body. For better protection, there is a need to develop river or stream standards, and for effluent discharge standards to be set accordingly in order to comply with these river or stream standards.

A number of sources are not able to comply with existing

CHALLENGES

In addition to the challenges outlined earlier, there are a number of other challenges that need to be given consideration. The uniform discharge standard is applicable throughout the country and does not take into account the assimilative

By Mohd Shahwahid H.O, Faculty of Economics and Management, Universiti Putra Malaysia & Poh Lye Yong, Forestry Department Headquarters, Peninsular Malaysia

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28 THE INGENIEUR

Economic Value Of Wild Bees In Honey Collection From The Forest

In Malaysia, owing to the rising awareness of the importance of non-timber value (NTV), some State Governments are willing to set aside some portions of the forest for protective purposes. This implies that forests which until a few years ago, valued for their timber, are suddenly more valuable as intact forests. Now, there is a realization that in some tracts of forest, the value of timber revenues cannot match the summation of the costs of externalities arising from logging and the loss of NTV.

In specific cases, the role of NTV may be grossly under-valued, so much so that the benefits from NTV are ignored and not valued. There exist methodologies to estimate the value of these NTV and the costs of the externalities from logging operations. In Malaysia, valuing of NTV had been attempted by Ahmad et al. (1990), Cheng (1994), Jamal (1997) and Mohd Shahwahid and Nik Mustapha (1991), Nik Mustapha (1993) and Mohd Shahwahid and Awang (1999). It is noted that economic evaluation techniques are still evolving and many methodologies deemed acceptable previously are now proven inadequate and being improved.

There are three categories of NTV namely; extractive, non-extractive, and preservation. A complete valuation of NTV requires estimating the values for all the cells as shown in Table 1. Some of these are easier to estimate than others. According to Lampietti and Dixon (1995), five characteristics make valuing NTV difficult: (i) there is inadequate information about their price and quantity; (ii)

they can be non-excludable; (iii) their biological dimensions are poorly understood; (iv) they require an extended planning horizon, and (v) they are joint products.

How these three categories of NTVs rate with respect to the above characteristics influences the degree of difficulty in their valuation. Extractive values are easiest to measure because they represent tangible goods, like rattans and honey, that are harvested from the forest and may be sold in local markets. Non-extractive values are harder to measure because they represent somewhat intangible services, like water flow regulation and recreation for which prices are usually unavailable. Preservation values are hardest to measure because they are intangibles, which neither quantities nor prices exist. It can only

The residual technique was used to measure the economic value of wild bees in honey production. The value of wild bees in the forest is influenced by the market price of honey, weight of honey that can be potentially extracted, number of hives available per tree and the profit margin assigned by the wild honey collectors. These data were obtained from a survey of 12 wild honey collectors in the state of Pahang. Results from the study showed that the value of wild bees in honey production was RM24.90 per hive.

Extractive Values Non-Extractive Values Preservation Values

Rattan extraction Recreation Option

Bamboo extraction Aesthetic Existence

Hunting and fishing Watershed effects

Honey gathering Nutrient Cycling

Other minor forest products

Natural Hazard Control Carbon sequestration

Source: Lampietti and Dixon (1995)

Table 1 : Component of non-timber values of tropical forest

THE INGENIEUR 29

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be measured with survey-based questionnaires that describe hypothetical markets.

This paper attempts to appraise the value of wild bees in the production of honey available from hives build on selected forest trees. This economic value is based on an extractive good in the forests.

BASIC MODEL

The value of wild bees in honey production is basically the value of the available stock of honey that can be extracted from bee hives. In this study, the residual value approach is adopted. This approach is a direct application of derived demand: all costs other than that of the wild bees are subtracted from the market price of the product. Firstly, the approach required determining the selling price of the product or products potentially extracted from the bee hives.

The product that has a market price is honey, that is based on the price delivered to the middleman. By subtracting all costs from the products final sales price from extracting to transporting, and further deduction for whatever amount deemed necessary to pay to the entrepreneur wild honey collector for his or her contribution, one derived the residual value. This residual value is the economic rent or value of the wild bees in its function for the production of honey. Hence, this rent can be allocated as the value of the returns to the resource owner, that is, the Forestry Department, custodian of the forest.

COMPUTATION PROCEDURE

Valuation of wild bees in honey production require two basic sets of information: (i) prices and costs, and (ii) potential quantities of honey extracted from bee hives found on selected trees in the forest. The formula for calculating the value of wild bees in honey production, adapted from the formula for stumpage timber value of Davis (1977), and Mohd Shahwahid and Awang Nor (1999) is given below:

k V = Qj { HPj - (ADC + APMj ) }(1) j = 1

where

V = value of wild bees in honey production per tree with hives HPj = market price of honey and related products j Qj = quantity (kg) of honey and related products j which is estimated to be equal to Qj = (m sj Ci) (2)

where

m I = proportion of bee hives bearing honey

sj = number of bee hives that can be potentially harvested for honey and related product j Ci = number of trees with bee hives in the forest reserve ADC = average direct collecting, transporting and processing cost of honey (not inclusive of collectors equitable profit margin) APMj = equitable profit margin allocated to the collector for harvesting honey and related products j, which is equal to

APMj = (HPj)/(1 )(3)

where

= average Malaysian industrial profit margin in percent but adjusted to reflect the risk undertaken by the wild honey collector. In this analysis a of 30% is used which is considered quite representative for this industry in general.

From the above equations, the variations in the value of bee colonies within a tract of forest will be influenced by the productivity of bee hives; prices of honey and related products; and costs of collection, transportation and processing.

Harvested honey comb with honey

30 THE INGENIEUR

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STUDY SITE

Various data are needed to compute the value of wild bees in honey production. This included the number of hives per tree, proportion of honey-bearing hives, yield per honey-bearing hive, ex-middleman prices of bottled honey, costs of collecting wild honey, transportation and packing, and a fair profit margin for the wild honey collectors. To obtain these data, field surveys of wild honey collectors are conducted. Analysis is conducted on 12 respondents in three forest areas (see Table 2) located in the state of Pahang. Although 15 collectors were interviewed, three cannot be used for the analysis as the information required was inadequate.

Table 2 : Location of samples by forest districts in PahangForest areas

Forest district

No. of samples

Comments

Bera Temerloh 4 Natural forest

Kemasul Temerloh 3 Natural forest and Acacia forest plantation

Jerantut Jerantut 5 Natural forest

Since there is no population list of wild honey collectors in the country, the selection of sample is based on snowball non-probability sampling. Forest District Offices are contacted to enquire whether field staff are aware of any wild honey collectors. A survey of one honey collector leads to the identification of another in the district.

RESULTS

Table 3 shows the average revenue from wild honey collection and the economic value of wild honey bees in the forest. Higher average revenues of RM74.67 per hive and RM 86.63 per hive from honey production are obtained by collectors from the Bera and Kemasul Forest Reserves respectively. Average revenue from the Jerantut Forest Reserve is less than half the amount obtained by the collectors from the earlier two forest reserves.

Various reasons can be attributed to the variation in revenues per hive from the forest trees. One possible reason is the number of bee hives available per tree and the number of trees available. Another factor is the influence of the marketing channel adopted by the collectors. Collectors selling direct to consumers at farmers market and by the roadside stalls obtained higher honey prices as compared to those selling to middlemen. The higher prices obtained in the earlier marketing channel is the higher risk involved. Business may not be forthcoming and extra marketing effort is needed.

Harvesting the part containing honey

Average Forest Reserve Overall

Bera Kemasul Jerantut Average

RM / hive (%) RM / hive (%) RM / hive (%) RM / hive (%)

Direct Production Cost 2.01 2.70 8.67 10.01 8.62 29.10 6.43 10.92

Wages* 9.77 13.09 24.09 27.81 8.52 28.76 12.83 21.79

Production Cost 11.79 15.79 32.76 37.82 17.15 57.86 19.26 32.71

Profit Margin+ 18.67 25.00 21.66 25.00 7.41 25.00 14.72 25.00

Value of Wild Bees 44.21 59.21 32.21 37.18 5.08 17.14 24.90 42.29

Revenue 74.67 100.00 86.63 100.00 29.63 100.00 58.89 100.00

* = imputed wages of collection crew+ = imputed profit margin 25%

Table 3 : Average revenue from honey collection & economic value of wild honey bees

THE INGENIEUR 31

feature

The breakdown of the average revenue per hive suggested that direct production cost is small (10.92%). If imputed wages of the collecting crew are included, it raised the production cost to 32.71% of the average revenue per hive. Allowing a 25% normal profit margin for entrepreneurial efforts by collectors, a residual value of RM 24.90 per hive is obtained. This value is allocated as the economic rent of wild bees in honey production. Overall, the economic rent represented 42.29% of the revenue generated from honey production. This high proportion allocated as the economic rent is due to the low usage of capital since the honey and honey comb in the hives are self-produced by the bees without any human effort to culture the honey involved.

The above average revenue varied among the forest reserves. This occurred due to variations in the direct cost, particularly, the imputed wages and number of honey collection crew, distance to the forest trees with bee hives, and selling price of honey. This explains why Bera and Kemasul Forest Reserves proportionally have higher proportion of the component of wild bee economic value and smaller compositions of direct production cost and imputed wages and profit to the collection crew.

Table 3 provides information on the average revenue per hive and the economic value of wild bees in honey production on a per unit hive basis. To obtain the total economic value of wild bees in honey production involve the overall computation during a collecting trip at the forest site. The list of the forest reserves and their associated calculated economic value of wild bee colonies for the production of honey vis--vis the total revenue is provided in Table 4.

Bee colonies from forest reserves have a higher number of hives per tree and the number of trees with bee colonies. This is unlike the case in the Kemasul Forest Plantation, where despite the higher rent, it has fewer hives per Acacia tree. Wild bees tend to build a higher number of hives in taller trees with many perpendicular branches which are more readily available in the natural forest than in forest plantation. The honey yield per hive is also higher in natural forest trees. Hence, the total economic value for the Kemasul Forest Plantation is lower.

The economic value of wild bees in honey production vary between collection in natural forest and plantation forest. The economic values

are higher for collection activit ies from the natural forest as compared to forest plantation if the economic value per hive is equally high. But because the value per hive in Jerantut Forest Reserve is very low, the distinction between natural and forest plantation is not seen.

A regression between economic value of wild honey bees with several influencing factors suggested that only direct cost, yield, prices of honey and imputed wages are statistically significant factors. Equation 1 below provides the full econometric diagnostic of the economic value function. This function is also useful for the projection of the economic value of wild bees in respect to honey production. The estimated function is relatively a good fit with an adjusted R2 of 56.6% and a F test that is statistically significant at 5% significant level. The function showed that the economic value of wild honey bees is positively influenced by the number of hives available and the price of honey but negatively dependent on the number of collecting team members at 5% level of significance.

Table 4 : Total economic value of wild honey bees in honey production (RM)

Average Forest Reserve Overall

Bera Kemasul Jerantut Average

Economic Rent / hive

44.21 32.21 5.08 24.90

Average no. of hives / tree

6.00 2.67 5.00 4.56

Average value of wild bees / tree

265.26 86.01 25.40 113.54

Average number of trees / collector team

1.25 1.00 2.00 1.50

Number of collecting team / forest area

4 3 5 4

Average value of wild bees

1,326.30 258.03 254.00 681.24

where

Value = economic value of wild honey bees (RM/trip)

Hive = number of hives per trip (hive/trip)Yield = weight of honey harvested per trip

(kg/trip)Crew = number of collecting team membersPrice = price of honey (RM/kg)Figures in bracket are the t statisticsAdjusted R2 is the adjusted coefficient of multiple determinationF is the F statistic**, * are indications of statistical significance at the 1% and 5% levels of significance.

Apart from the use of this function to show the partial relationship between the economic value of honey bees with each of the following variables: number of hives, price of honey and the number of team crews, other factors remain unchanged. This function is also useful for projecting the economic value of wild bees with respect to honey production.

CONCLUSION AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS

This paper contributed several interesting findings. Firstly, it had demonstrated a simple method to put values on the role of wild bees in honey production in the forest. The economic value of wild bees is higher in natural forest than in forest plantation. Secondly, the value of bees constituted a large proportion of the revenue from honey production since direct production cost incurred by collectors are minimal given that the true work of gathering nectar and processing them into honey is naturally done by the bees. The other cost elements deducted from the revenue are imputed wages of the honey collecting crew. Thirdly, given that the essential role played by wild bees is considered useful information for biodiversity conservation, it can be included into the total economic values of forests. Fourthly, the average total economic value of wild honey collection per tree (or price of honey that can be potentially harvested from the forest trees) has been obtained. This latter information is especially useful to State

Government regulators in setting appropriate user fees for the extraction of wild honey.

The first three sets of information are potentially useful for biodiversity conservation of the forests. The ability to appraise the value of the role of wild bees in honey production suggests that other NTVs have a high probability of being valued as well. With the estimation of most of these NTV, there will be sufficient monetary-based information to help better decision making on forest land use.. With this information, it is possible to identify the trade-offs involved when forests are opened for timber harvesting or deforested. A more integrated management of land use should be implemented to avoid the loss of these NTV values. The timber harvesting system can be specified to take into account the multiple-use of the forest resources so as not to forego these NTV benefits.

The fourth piece of information is of potential value for policy makers and analysts, as well as the Government agency responsible for licensing the extraction of non-timber forest products. The economic value of potential wild honey available in the forests reflects the resource rent that can be collected by forest resource owners, possibly licensing wild honey collection. The resource rent is the return to resource owners, basically the State Government, the trustee of the forest.

A word of caution on the use of these economic values of honey bees should be in order. This valuation exercise is site-specific, particularly to the study locations. Its findings are not directly transferable to appraise wild honey bees in other locations, owing to the variations in bee hives and trees selected by the bees to build their hives, honey prices across the country, accessibility and the cost of extraction, transportation and processing. Further, applying the economic values to computing the total value of all harvestable honey over the whole state can be erroneous. This assumes that the supply of wild honey is infinitely elastic at these prices. Two problems are associated with this: (i) it contradicts an implicit assumption of the residual approach (infinitely inelastic supply); and