MEASURES have been taken to raise awareness and safety standards of crane operations at worksites following the deaths of three workers at a building site last week.

On Tuesday, the Workplace Safety and Health Advisory Committee (WSHAC) held a meeting with more than 200 people in the construction industry and crane operators to share information on safe lifting operations. Another session will be held in March.

Members of the commitee visited the accident site on Feb 23 to find out more about the tragic case.

The committee is drawing up a checklist to help the construction industry work better with crane suppliers and maintenance companies, and it will also review the training of crane operators.

The committee also urged all industry stakeholders involved in the use of cranes to take immediate steps to ensure that their cranes are in order and to beef up up the safety procedures.

Said Mr Lee Tzu Yang, chairman of the committee: 'With the increase in the number of construction projects, crane usage is high as many of the sites require cranes for lifting activities. In densely built-up Singapore, it is critical for crane operations to be carried out safely, as they may potentially affect not only workers, but also public areas and the public-at-large.'