The Operation of Songpa Construction Safety Center Shows Significant Effects

Two Experts Assigned to Songpa Construction Safety Center... Achieving Practical Results from Site Safety Management to Civil Complaint Response

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) announced on the 19th that the Songpa Architectural Safety Center, which opened last year, has been effective in safety management from construction site supervision to civil complaint response.

The district has been operating the Songpa Architectural Safety Center since July 1 of last year. It has deployed five personnel, including two experts such as architects and engineers, and related public officials, to carry out ▲ safety inspections of aging buildings ▲ safety management of construction sites ▲ technical reviews related to building permits.

Analyzing the performance of the Songpa Architectural Safety Center from August to December last year, the district stated that unlike before when inspections relied on visual checks due to the absence of experts, professional and systematic safety management has become possible.

First, it became possible to conduct focused inspections by construction scale and process. Inspections were carried out not only on large construction sites but also on small and medium-sized private construction sites, which were previously blind spots in safety management. A total of 60 sites were subject to focused inspections by process such as excavation, cranes, and demolition last year. Among these, 16 demolition sites with collapse risks were inspected simultaneously to prevent major accidents in advance.

The continuity of building maintenance management, which was previously implemented, was also secured. Before the operation of the Architectural Safety Center, there were limitations in continuous management due to one-time inspections by external experts. Accordingly, the district deployed internal experts to ensure continuity in safety management as well as prompt action. Last year, emergency safety inspections were conducted on 709 small aging buildings and 9 church steeple structures with risk factors, and immediate action notices were issued for 6 sites requiring repair and reinforcement.

More proactive responses to civil complaint sites have also become possible. In the past, when a risk report was filed, the responsible public official visited the site, confirmed the situation, and requested correction via official documents. Currently, experts from the Architectural Safety Center jointly visit the site to propose practical solutions. Last year, 20 risk reports, including those concerning the risk of retaining wall overturning, were resolved, alleviating residents' concerns.

In the future, the district plans to purchase six specialized devices, including crack width measuring instruments, for the Architectural Safety Center to conduct more detailed safety inspections.

Additionally, aiming for zero safety accidents, the district plans to promote ▲ structural safety reviews from the building permit stage ▲ ‘Fire Safety Performance Enhancement Support Project’ for multi-use facilities under three floors ▲ ‘Visiting Private Building Safety Inspections’ for voluntarily managed targets.

Mayor Park Seong-su stated, “We are striving to secure expertise in construction site safety management through the operation of the Songpa Architectural Safety Center,” and added, “We will continue to establish a solid building safety management system to create a ‘Safe City, Songpa’ where residents can live with peace of mind.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.