News & Events - Institution of Engineers Singapore

IES Update
Message from the President
IES COUNCIL MEMBERS
2010/2011
President
Er. Ho Siong Hin
Vice Presidents
Er. Chong Kee Sen
Er. Prof Chou Siaw Kiang
Er. Edwin Khew
Er. Lum Chong Chuen
Er. Ong See Ho
Prof Yeoh Lean Weng
Honorary Secretary
Er. Ng Say Cheong
Honorary Treasurer
Assoc Prof Daniel Lim
Assistant Honorary Secretary
Er. Jee Yi Yng
Assistant Honorary Treasurer
Mr Jeffrey Chua
Immediate Past President
Er. Lee Bee Wah
Past Presidents
Er. Tan Seng Chuan
Er. A/Prof Foo Say Wei
Er. Ong Ser Huan
Council Members
Dr Boh Jaw Woei
Prof Er Meng Joo
Er. Koh Beng Thong
Mr Lim Shiyi
Er. Low Wong Fook
Mr Neo Kok Beng
Er. Ong Geok Soo
Er. Prof Ong Say Leong
Er. Pak Yew Hock, Lawrence
Prof Seeram Ramakrishna
Mr Tan Kai Hong
Er. Toh Siaw Hui, Joseph
Mr Alfred Wong
Dear Friends
As the new President of IES, I welcome the opportunity to communicate with the
readers of ‘The Singapore Engineer’ on a regular basis.
In the last few weeks, we have seen how the blow-out of the oil well on the seabed
in the Gulf of Mexico has played out for BP. The incident caused an explosion on
the offshore oil drilling platform, killing 11 workers and injuring 17 others. It also
resulted in a massive oil spill that continues to threaten the east coast of the US, on an
unprecedented scale. Efforts to cap the oil are ongoing but a lot of damage has already
been done.
This man-made disaster is an example of the consequences to human life, assets, and
the environment (in this instance directly affecting the livelihoods of people), when
production operations go wrong. A myriad of questions strike our minds: Why did the
explosion happen? Were all the safety measures including those relating to materials,
equipment, instrumentation, personnel and procedures etc, in place, that could have
prevented it? Were scenarios for different kinds of abnormal situations visualised, and
response measures developed, prioritised, and simulated?
What we can say is that, as far as possible, such a situation should never be allowed
to happen. The subject of safety should be given top priority, so that human beings,
property, and the environment, are protected at all times.
Engineers have a major role to play in the achievement of this objective. Backed by
their technical knowledge and experience, they can take the lead in the development
and implementation of safety measures and post-accident response programmes.
This is why we place paramount importance on workplace safety in IES. The IES
Academy has been organising training courses with an emphasis on safety to inculcate
the ‘safety first’ mindset in our engineers. Lessons to be learnt from accidents in
our recent memory, such as the Nicoll Highway collapse and the Marina Bay Sands
fatality, are imparted to our engineers through relevant seminars and courses. Through
education we hope that the safety mindset will be prevalent among our engineers.
Er. Ho Siong Hin
President
The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES)
2 · THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER Jun 2010