Plantation safety equipment in Malaysia, for estates and mills in Sabah
Head, eye and hand protection, footwear and the items a mill and estate crew uses up.
TopBorneo supplies, rents and services plantation safety equipment in Malaysia from the offices in Labuan and Kota Kinabalu.
An estate and a mill are two different workplaces. On the estate the risk is falling fruit and chemicals, in the mill it is tanks and confined spaces. TopBorneo covers both, and services the equipment afterwards.
Mills and estates
Why work with TopBorneo
Tell us the job, the site and the crew. We work out what fits instead of sending a catalogue back.
MSA, KStrong and Bullard straight from an official distributor, with lighter lines alongside them.
Gas detectors, breathing apparatus and cylinders are serviced by our own technicians.
The same people handle your enquiry, your order and your servicing.
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Open a section to read the detail behind it.
What the work needs
| The job | What the crew carries | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Harvesting and pruning under the palms | Helmet with chin strap, eye protection | head and face protection |
| Spraying and mixing chemicals | Respirator, chemical gloves, goggles | respiratory protection |
| Field and workshop work | Gloves, workwear | hand and body protection |
| Mill tanks, sterilisers and pits | Multi-gas detector, escape set (EEBD), tripod | confined space equipment |
| One term used below | In plain words |
|---|---|
| HIRARC | Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control. Writing down what can hurt someone, how likely it is, and what you will do about it |
The chemical side of estate work
Spraying and mixing are the jobs where protection is easiest to skip. A respirator with the right filter, chemical resistant gloves and goggles are the minimum, and the filter wears out long before the mask does. Ask TopBorneo which filter suits the product you spray, and name that product in your enquiry. The groups in the table above are listed with everything else on the safety equipment supplier in Malaysia page.
A mill is full of confined spaces
Sterilisers, storage tanks, clarifier vessels and effluent pits are confined spaces. Malaysia's Industry Code of Practice for Safe Working in a Confined Space 2010 requires an Authorised Gas Tester and Entry Supervisor, or AGTES, with a detector in calibration. See the confined space entry guide, and gas detector rental when the mill needs more detectors than it owns. TopBorneo supplies and calibrates the detector that person uses.
Writing the risk down first
DOSH publishes its own HIRARC guidance for the palm oil plantation sector. The HIRARC is what decides which equipment your crews carry, so it comes before the order. See the risk assessment guide.
Sabah, and the mill laboratory
Sabah carries about 1.48 million hectares of oil palm, second only to Sarawak. Mills that run their own quality control also run a laboratory, and TopBorneo supplies and maintains laboratory equipment. See laboratory supplies and lab equipment service.
Common questions
What protective equipment do oil palm estate workers need?
Helmets with a chin strap and eye protection for harvesting and pruning, because fronds and bunches fall. Respirators, chemical gloves and goggles for spraying and mixing. Gloves and workwear for everything else. TopBorneo supplies these from Kota Kinabalu and Labuan.
Does a palm oil mill need gas detection?
Yes, wherever the work goes into a steriliser, tank, vessel or effluent pit. Those are confined spaces, and Malaysia's Industry Code of Practice 2010 requires an Authorised Gas Tester and Entry Supervisor using a detector that is in calibration. TopBorneo sells and rents detectors.
What does HIRARC mean for an estate?
HIRARC stands for Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control. DOSH publishes guidance on it for the palm oil plantation sector. In practice the HIRARC decides what your crews wear and carry, so it is the document your equipment list should follow.
Does TopBorneo service laboratory equipment for mills?
Yes. Alongside safety equipment, TopBorneo supplies and maintains laboratory equipment, consumables and chemicals. For a mill that runs its own quality control, that means one supplier for the crews out on the estate and for the benches in the laboratory.
Send your estate list
Email your equipment list to crm@topborneo.com, or send it to the Kota Kinabalu WhatsApp number. Say which items are for the estate and which are for the mill, and TopBorneo replies with what is available and what each item needs.