HEALTHY WORKPLACE ECOSYSTEM EXTENDED TO SMALL AND
MEDIUM ENTERPRISES AT INDUSTRIAL ESTATES
Workers from 800 SMEs at Tampines Industrial Park A to benefit from healthy living programmes brought to their workplace
Singapore, 15 Jun 2016 – Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) located in industrial estates are set to benefit from the roll out of the Healthy Workplace Ecosystem. Designed to meet the needs of the workers, the ecosystem model at Tampines Industrial Park A will bring
healthy living options to the doorstep of workers within the estate with programmes such as on-site health screening and monthly health coaching sessions, and customised smoking cessation programmes to motivate smokers in their quit journey.
Healthy Workplace Ecosystem at Tampines Industrial Park A.
2. Tampines Industrial Park A comprises an estimated 800 SMEs in the clean/light, motor-related and woodworking trades. These SMEs have typically smaller workforce sizes and limited access to workplace health programmes. Establishing a Healthy Workplace Ecosystem at the industrial estate will allow for demand to be aggregated so that workers
employed by the various SMEs can enjoy health programmes at their workplaces.
3. With almost half of the 5,000-strong workforce aged 40 years and above, a distinctive focus of the health promotion programmes at the industrial estate will be on chronic disease detection and management. Health screening is critical in detecting chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol. With the conduct of health screening and personalised face-to-face health coaching sessions for at-risk individuals over a 6-month period, workers at the industrial estate can take active steps to manage their conditions through lifestyle changes and follow-up with a doctor. Step trackers will also be given during the health coaching sessions to encourage workers to use the wearable device to track and monitor their physical activity level.
4. To help smokers within the industrial estate quit smoking, the I Quit: The 28-Day Countdown programme1 will be brought into the estate to educate, nudge and guide smokers on actionable steps they can adopt to remain smoke-free, supporting them through their quit journey. Customised quit advice and on-site counselling sessions have been developed for the workers with an emphasis on peer support network to provide smokers with the needed support to quit smoking.
5. Exercise sessions will cater to sedentary workers in the estate to increase their physical activity levels and healthier food options will also be made available at the canteens so that workers may benefit from a holistic Healthy Workplace Ecosystem.
6. “The transformation of Tampines Industrial Park A into a Healthy Workplace Ecosystem represents another significant milestone in our efforts to bring innovative, holistic and customised health promotion programmes into the workplace including how to prevent or manage diabetes. With the higher proportion of mature workers in industrial estates as compared to business clusters, this extension into the industrial estate setting also enables us to empower even more older workers to better take care of their health, live a healthier life, and address health challenges specific to their work environment. We are very appreciative of the strong partnership with developers and businesses in helping us realise the vision of building healthy and vibrant work environments for Singaporeans,” said Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for Health, and Co-chairperson of the Tripartite Oversight Committee (TOC).
Tripartite partnership – a ground-up initiative
7. The Healthy Workplace Ecosystem at Tampines Industrial Park A sees a unique collaboration between the Health Promotion Board (HPB), the industrial estate landlord – the Housing & Development Board (HDB), and the industrial estate tenant associations – the Tampines Small and Medium Enterprise Association (TSMEA) and the Tampines Industrial Manufacturers’ Association (TIMA).
8. The collaboration between HPB and HDB first started at the Ang Mo Kio and Bedok industrial estates in 2015 and learnings from the small scale health screening and coaching piloted at Bedok have been incorporated into Tampines Industrial Park A. For example, the health coaching in Tampines will adopt a one-to-one format, which was rated favourably by participants of the pilot programme in Bedok. Compared to a group coaching, this format allows coaching sessions to be scheduled around individual worker’s work schedule and individualised health advice to be dispensed.
9. HPB has also been working closely with TSMEA and TIMA since March 2016 to leverage their wide network of tenants and social media platforms to garner support from the tenants and workers for the Healthy Workplace Ecosystem.
10. “We are very happy to support HPB in offering health programmes to our tenants and the workers at Tampines Industrial Park A. With healthy living options made conveniently available for workers, it will be easier for them to make the choice to stay healthy, employable and productive. The Healthy Workplace Ecosystem is a very good programme and we hope that as many workers of SMEs as possible can benefit from it,” said Ms Catherine Koh, President of TSMEA.
11. The ecosystem approach has proven to be successful at business clusters at Mapletree Business City, Ascendas-Singbridge and one-north, where it was introduced over the past two years and had seen active participation from workers. For example, Ascendas- Singbridge, the most recent business space provider to adopt the Healthy Workplace Ecosystem, has health programmes rolled out across all eight clusters reaching 30,000 workers. Through the ecosystem approach, companies can save costs and at the same time, workers have access to a wider variety of health programmes. The shared amenities, including F&B outlets, atriums, open spaces and seminar rooms, also provide opportunities for the creation of a supportive health environment.
Workplace safety and health
12. SMEs and their workers in industrial estates will also benefit from initiatives to increase safety awareness and strengthen preventive measures in mitigating risks at work. Apart from educational activities targeted at workers, the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council will be providing free customised on-site consultations under the Safety
Compliance Assistance Visits Plus (SCAV+) programme to employers in the estates.
13. The extension of the Healthy Workplace Ecosystem model to industrial estates is part of the TOC framework announced last June. The strategic thrusts under the framework include partnering developers and businesses to reach more workers to deliver accessible,
customised and targeted workplace safety and health programmes, increasing access to industry-specific and customised workplace health interventions for mature workers and implementing holistic workplace safety and health through the Total Workplace Safety and Health approach.