Fall from height (FFH) is a perennial problem in the construction industry across many countries. In
Singapore, construction worksites are required to develop and implement a fall prevention plan (FPP)
to eliminate and mitigate the risk of fall hazards. The FPP is a document that records information such
as fall prevention policy, roles and responsibilities, fall risk assessment, and emergency response. This
study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of FPP in reducing the risk of FFH accidents and to identify
the underlying factors influencing the success of a program-based safety intervention. A mixed method
approach involving an exploratory site visit, 4 interviews, a questionnaire survey with 93 complete
respondents, and content analysis of 17 FPP was conducted. In addition, an ordinal regression was
conducted on the questionnaire survey data. The analyses indicate that FPP was perceived as an effective
intervention because it requires clear allocation of responsibilities, increases the commitment to fall prevention
and made competency requirements explicit. Nonetheless, the effectiveness of the FPP is limited
by issues such as failure to implement the FPP, lack of contextualisation to site situations, lack of competency
of frontline supervisors and workers, inadequate cooperation from sub-contractors and insufficient
management commitment. The study provided empirical data to support insights on the underlying
success factors for program-based safety interventions. The study raised concerns about the phenomenon
of ‘‘paper exercise”, where documents were created to satisfy safety requirements, but do not meet the
intent of management or regulators. Further research on the phenomenon was recommended.