Even Small-Scale Construction Projects Must Establish Safety Management Plans if There Is a Risk of Accidents

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The government will mandate the establishment of safety management plans for small-scale construction projects, which have been blind spots in safety management despite frequent accidents. Qualification standards for regular safety inspections will also be strengthened to prevent tower crane accidents.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that it has revised the Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rules of the Construction Technology Promotion Act to include these measures, effective from the 10th. Construction projects subject to bidding announcements, permits, approvals, etc., after this date will be covered. This revision is a follow-up measure to implement tasks included in the construction safety innovation plan and fire safety measures for construction projects, following the amendment of the Construction Technology Promotion Act in June.

First, in accordance with the amendment to the Construction Technology Promotion Act, the lower-level laws have stipulated the subjects, procedures, standards for plan preparation, and grounds for payment of preparation costs for safety management plans, which are now mandatory for small-scale projects with accident risks.

Accordingly, safety management plans are mandatory for construction projects of apartment complexes, neighborhood living facilities, or factories with buildings of 2 or more floors but less than 10 floors and a total floor area of 1,000㎡ or more, or warehouses with a total floor area of 5,000㎡ or more. The contractor must commence construction only after obtaining approval of the relevant plan from the ordering agency or the permitting authority.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has prepared detailed standards focusing on essential accident prevention matters such as scaffolding and safety facility installation plans to minimize the contractor’s workload while achieving accident prevention effects. At the same time, the approval process, which previously involved six steps, has been simplified to four steps. Additionally, provisions have been made for the ordering party to include the cost of preparing small-scale safety management plans in the safety management budget and pay it to the contractor.

Existing safety management plans have also been improved with detailed regulations to enhance accident prevention effects. Accordingly, to prevent collision accidents with construction machinery or equipment that frequently enter and exit the site, dedicated guides for machinery and equipment must be assigned on-site. Furthermore, to prepare for fire accidents, evacuation routes must be secured, emergency evacuation training plans established, and emergency evacuation drills conducted at least once a month from the time of installing highly flammable insulation materials. Along with this, to ensure the safety of pedestrians passing near the site, tower crane operation plans must be established to prevent the tower crane jib from passing outside the construction site, and unmanned tower cranes must be operated by assigning dedicated coordinators for each piece of equipment.

Measures to enhance the substance of regular safety inspections for tower crane accident prevention are also included in this revision. The qualifications of inspectors for regular safety inspections have been strengthened to at least the level of inspectors under the Construction Machinery Management Act to ensure thorough tower crane inspections. Accordingly, from now on, only those who meet one of the following criteria will be allowed to conduct regular safety inspections: ▲ graduates from junior colleges or higher majoring in industrial safety, mechanical, electrical, or electronic fields ▲ holders of industrial engineer certificates or higher with more than five years of relevant experience ▲ holders of non-destructive testing technician certificates or higher with more than three years of relevant experience.

When conducting regular safety inspections of construction machinery such as tower cranes, drilling machines, pile drivers, and pile extractors, the inspection items have been specified to check the appropriateness of safety measures to prevent overturning or collapse during installation, dismantling, and operation.

Meanwhile, materials certified under the Industrial Safety and Health Act will be exempt from quality inspections upon site delivery to reduce unnecessary testing costs. However, quality inspection regulations have been clarified to require quality inspections for reused materials that may have quality degradation, even if they are certified materials.

Lee Sang-joo, Director of Technical Safety Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "Through this revision of subordinate laws, we expect that the safety measures established so far will function properly on-site and lead to a reduction in construction accidents," adding, "We will verify compliance with the system through safety inspections at construction sites and continuously supplement any deficiencies during system operation."

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